Nothin But Trouble
by FreeFallin15
Summary: When Clary goes to bail her brother Jonathan out of jail, she finds herself in the middle of a jailbreak and wondering how a certain blonde ended up beside her, let alone saving her...at least twice. I don't own the Mortal Instruments series.
1. Chapter 1

_**I absolutely loved this series, and some ff stories about it! So much so, that I decided to write my own. Hope y'all like… :)**_

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><p>She walked into the cold, dreary prison lobby. She had no idea where she needed to go, or what she needed to do; so she looked around.<p>

"Listen, Isabelle, I…" she overheard someone on the phone. When she looked in his direction, she saw a very attractive man. He was tall, with light blonde hair, and, though his back was to her, Clary could tell he worked out often. He wore a white t-shirt and blue jeans. And it all fit him very, very well.

"Isabelle, I know…I can't keep doing this…I…" he was running a frustrated hand through his hair. It was obvious the person on the other side of the line had resolve.

If only she could too.

"Damnit, Isabelle! I didn't start this one! It wasn't even my fault this time…"

"Fine!" he swore as he hung up the phone, and suddenly, a woman behind the desk to the left that Clary hadn't noticed before, piped up.

"Hey! Keep your damn voice down!"

The blonde haired man turned and glared at her, but didn't say anything as he sat back down and an officer came from the hallway to the left to supervise him – Clary guessed.

Clary turned back to the lady at the desk. She looked strong, tough, rigid…Clary supposed that those were qualities you _needed_ to be working here.

"Hi…" she began, walking up to the desk.

"Yes, dear, how many I help you?" the lady said coldly. Her nametag read Dorthea.

"Um…I got a call from my brother saying he's supposed to be here…"

"Name?" she looked at her expectantly as she put her hands on the keyboard in front of her.

"Jonathan Morgenstern."

"Ah, yes…he is in here…" the woman eyed Clary suspiciously, sending one eyebrow flying up before continuing, "Do you have an appointment to visit him?"

Clary shook her head, "No, I'm here to get him out."

Dorothea cocked her head, and raised an eyebrow, "You do know he's in under a _fifteen-thousand-dollar_ bond, right?"

Clary nodded, "Yes, that's what he told me. I have all the money…"

"Oh, yeah? And where did a young girl like you get that kind of money?"

"I…I earned it." She replied wearily.

Suddenly, she heard some sort of growling coming from across the room, "Oh, I'm sure you did."

When she turned, she saw the blonde-haired man smirking at her.

She was suddenly extremely uncomfortable.

"Do you have I.D.?" the woman asked Clary as both of them ignored the man.

Clary nodded and dug in her pocket, pulling out her license, and handing it to the lady.

"This says that you're over eighteen, but you don't look it." The lady eyed her up and down – from what she could see of Clary over the desk.

"Wait, you're _legal_?" the blonde-haired man called again from over in his seat.

"Get him out of here!" the lady behind the desk shouted.

Clary watched, yet again, as the officer that was previously standing beside the man, yanked him up by the arm.

"Whoa, officer, forceful, aren't we?"

The officer gave no response, just began half dragging, half escorting the man down the hallway.

Just as Clary turned back to the woman, though, ear-piercing alarms sounded throughout the building, gates started coming down on the windows, and some of the doors…

And worse yet, there was a man in a jumpsuit, running down the hallway from Clary's left, carrying a gun.

It was pointed directly at Clary.

"Get down!" The woman behind the desk yelled, but Clary was frozen. She couldn't believe this was happening. All she wanted to do was trade the money for her brother and get the hell out of here.

And now it looked like that was going to cost her life.

Before the man shot her, though, he supposed the guard behind the desk was more of a threat, so he put a bullet into her head.

Clary's eyes squeezed shut as she felt the blood splatter all over the side of her face, and when she opened her eyes again, she barely caught a glimpse of the gun aimed at her before she felt a huge weight hit her back and she hit the ground with a thud, painfully.

Suddenly, someone was sitting so close to her that they were almost on top of her. Belatedly she opened her eyes again at the chaos before her.

She heard another shot, but didn't feel anything.

"Hey, hey, hey…we're not going to get in your way. We're not armed…just…walk down the hallway and we'll leave. You have my word."

Then, with a flipping of her stomach, she realized the guy who was almost sitting on top of her, who had just saved her from taking a bullet, who was now arguing for both of their lives; was the blonde haired man who was being escorted down the hallway.

She trained her eyes back onto the gunman, who was simply standing over the guy. He wasn't moving, and he wasn't saying anything.

"Look, I want out of here too. Just…just, please…let us go." The man yelled.

The man in the jumpsuit eyed them up once more before replying "Get outta here. Y'all ain't worth the bullets." And he began walking away.

The blonde-haired man immediately stood up and offered Clary his hand.

"Come on! Let's get out of here!" he yelled.

Clary grabbed his hand gratefully, "What's going on?!" They had to scream over the alarms and sirens.

"Sounds like a prison break! Let's go! It's this way!" Not letting go of Clary's hand, he led her to the door that she had just come through. She barely got a glimpse at the fallen officer in the doorway. She didn't remember hearing another shot after the man had saved her…

"Wait!" she suddenly remembered, pulling the man backwards.

"What the hell are you doing?!" the man yelled at her, turning around angrily. "We need to go if we intend to make it out of here alive!"

"Not without my brother!" She ran back over to the desk to get the envelope of money.

"Your brother will be fine! He's probably already out!"

"How do you know that?!"

"I don't! But I do know that he wouldn't want you risking your life in a situation like this when you had the opportunity to get out!"

"But…" Clary trailed off as she let the man half escort, half drag her out of the lobby.

"Put the money away." The man said over his shoulder, and she quickly stuffed the envelope of money back into her pocket.

When they finally arrived at the door of the hallway leading to the lobby, the man stopped dead in his tracks. "Shit." He muttered.

"What?" Clary asked, barely stopping herself from running into his back. And, judging from the outlines of muscles pulsing from his shirt, it might have hurt.

"We're trapped." The man stated plainly. Clary took the opportunity to follow the man's gaze out the window. There weren't any bars on the window or the door, but there were more men in jumpsuits – prisoners – out in the parking lot; obviously making sure no one escaped.

"Do you know another way out?" Clary asked, hopeful, but the man just shook his head.

"I wasn't in the best state when I was brought here. I only know of this way because I've been watching people come and go all morning."

Clary turned around, "Well, we have to go back…" she trailed off as he grabbed her arm.

"We can't. We'll likely be shot."

"Well, if we just stay here, we're sitting ducks."

The guy cringed, and Clary furrowed her eyebrows.

"I'm Clary, by the way."

"Do you always give strangers your name?" the guy smirked.

"Well, considering we're about to die, I suppose it can't hurt, right?"

"Jace." The man replied with a slight smile playing at his lips.

"What?" Clary asked him.

"Jace. My name is Jace." The man repeated.

"So nice to meet you, Jace. I just wish it were under different circumstances." Clary said, as she turned her attention back down the hallway to the lobby.

Jace nodded, "Yeah, a bedroom would've been so much better."

Clary's jaw dropped and she felt her face heating up.

_Did he really just say that? Wait, judging by the smirk on his face…he definitely did._

"Come on, like you said before, we have to move."

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as he followed her, and she had a feeling he was staring at her backside as they walked. She inwardly groaned, rolling her eyes. They both came to a stop as they were at the entrance of the lobby.

The coast was, amazingly, clear, and they ran into the lobby, and down the hallway where the gunman had come from.

"This place is like a maze…" Clary commented as they rounded corners and went down more hallways. They had even seen some cells…that, unfortunately, were empty.

"Well, yeah, a prison isn't exactly supposed to be easy to get out of." Jace retorted and Clary glared at him.

As they continued going in what Clary swore were circles, Jace suddenly grabbed Clary by the arm and swung her behind the corner they had just come from.

"What are you…" before she could get the sentence out, he put a hand over her mouth and shielded her body away from the oncoming footsteps that could now be heard.

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><p><em><strong>So, like it? Love it? Hate it? Want me to continue? Please reviewfollow/favorite/pm! Reviews work best, though ;)**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**OMG! SIXTEEN REVIEWS FOR THE FIRST CHAPTER?! IM AMAZED! THANK YOU ALL SO VERY, VERY MUCH!**_

_**So, just for that, here's the next chapter. :) Told ya reviews work well! **_

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><p>Clary could feel Jace's heart pounding, but that could've been her own, too.<p>

"Yo, D! They're all in the cafeteria! We need all the backup we can get!" a voice from far away called, and when he started talking, the footsteps stopped…just before they had reached the hallway where Jace and Clary were hiding.

The footsteps suddenly and quickly retreated in the direction that Clary assumed the other guy had called him from.

Clary and Jace made eye contact with his hand still over her mouth. After a brief moment – and with a look in his eyes that Clary couldn't place, Jace released his hand and the grip he had on her arm. They both peered out from behind the wall to check if the coast was clear.

As soon as she realized it was, Clary started in that direction.

"Where do you think you're going?" Jace whispered to her, softly grabbing her by the arm. They were managing to drown out the alarms by now.

"To get my brother. What part of that don't you understand? I'm not leaving here without him."

"I'm sure he's fine, Clary." Jace said, exasperated. "We need to get out of here. They won't spare us if they find us, but they'll probably spare him due to the uniform…"

"Then we'll steal some uniforms." Clary said.

"You're crazy." Jace replied. "Besides, you'd never fit in. This is a _man's_ prison in case you hadn't noticed."

"Oh, trust me, I've noticed."

If Clary didn't know any better, she could've sworn she had heard a low growl come from Jace. She shook the thoughts out of her head quickly, peering down the hallway as she was advancing to where she believed the prisoners were heading.

"You don't even know where the hell he is. We don't even know where the hell we're going. So how in the hell do you suppose we find him?"

Clary just left her mouth open askew, thinking, before finally responding with, "Look, Jace, I don't have all the answers; but I know one thing for sure, I'm not leaving here until I find my brother. You, on the other hand, are free to leave whenever you please. Thank you for saving my life... twice." She added, and turned around to walk away from him.

His face contorted into one of his famous smirks. "And just what kind of man would I be if I left a woman alone in a man's prison?"

"A less annoying one." Clary shot back, a little too quickly for Jace's comfort. She turned back around to continue her path forward.

"Um, Clary…"

"Yes, Jace?" she asked, exasperated, turning around. He was no longer making eye-contact with her – his eyes averted to the ground before his feet, as if he was nervous and didn't want to say what he was about to.

"How do you know your brother isn't helping them? How can you be sure he doesn't have a gun ready to shoot anyone who stands in his way? But most importantly…how do you know he's not already…"

"Damnit, Jace, don't you dare say dead. I can't afford to think like that. He's…" she trailed off and Jace thought he saw a small flicker of tears brim her eyes.

If it were possible, they were even quieter now than when they had started whispering, "He's what?" Jace prodded.

Clary let out a deep breath, "He's all I've got left." And before Jace could respond, Clary had continued her path to where the inmate had come from.

Sighing, Jace followed.

She stopped as she came up to another hallway. She had a decent idea of where to go now considering to their left was the front. She knew she had to keep heading right.

As they carefully walked down this next hallway, she saw some steps. She turned around to Jace.

"What do you think?" she whispered.

"I think we should stop whispering or someone's going to hear us." He retorted, smirking _again_, and she lightly smacked him in the chest. He had a point, though; somehow the alarms had been turned off. She then pointed at the steps, and nodded her head in that direction.

Jace shrugged, and nodded.

Clary took the stairs two at a time, with Jace right on her heels. After they had gotten to the top on a platform, Jace grabbed her arm and pulled her so that she was behind him. She assumed that he was tired of following her.

"Have you been here before?"

Jace shook his head.

"Then how do you know where to go?"

"I don't, but I'm sure I have a better idea than you." He teased.

She was slightly afraid as to the details of that sentence, but decided to let it drop to after they found her brother.

If they found her brother…

Once again, she shook her head. She still couldn't afford to think like that.

After they had made it up the stairs, she looked around and realized that they were in another long stretch of hallway, but there was light coming from the side of it, and they noticed a railing. Not too far down as they continued walking, did they hear a lot of noise. They picked up the pace into a light jog, and they had to adjust their eyes to the brighter light that they were now facing. They ducked down behind the railing of three bars so they could see the scene unfolding in front of them better. Looking around, they realized it was the cafeteria the prisoner had talked about earlier. There were a bunch of men in orange jumpsuits standing around with guns. A lot of officers were on the floor, blood pooling on the ground beneath them.

"Shit." Jace muttered in a whisper.

Clary had to put a hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp, and quickly averted her gaze to try to find a familiar face.

But she couldn't see him…she didn't see him anywhere.

Jace eyed her, and she shook her head; intrigued that even though they had just met, they could already silently communicate.

They both then silently agreed to go back, but as soon as they started backing up, someone suddenly yelled, "Hey! Up there!"

When Jace turned to look down, he barely got a glimpse of the inmate holding the gun that was pointing directly at them.

"Run!" Jace yelled, grabbing Clary's hand to quickly hoist her to her feet and start moving.

The next thing they knew, they were trapped like rats, running a maze they didn't even know, by a bunch of inmates.

Surely this could not end well.

Then, all too quickly, they were facing a wall, and Jace quickly spun on his heel – shouldering her behind him – and backing up so that she was between him and a wall. Prisoners were approaching them from all three of the surrounding hallways, but Clary was slightly more worried about Jace crushing her to death.

"Well, well, well…what have we here?" one of the inmates started, as the rest of them joined. The one that had just spoken was half circling them.

She felt Jace's body tense. He was definitely preparing for a fight.

_He can't be serious_…_he barely knows me, why the hell is he protecting me?_

"Man, can we _not_ kill the girl?!" Another inmate came out from behind the crowd. "Do you _know_ how long it's been since I've had a piece of ass; and all the damn guards in here are ugly as hell!"

All the inmates chuckled at that one…

And agreed.

The apparent leader snarled, "Fine, we won't kill the girl _immediately_, but what do we do about her boyfriend?"

Clary, surprisingly, let out a laugh, "Oh, him? He's not my boyfriend…"

"You're not helping…" Jace remarked through gritted teeth as he was eyeing all of the inmates.

"Hold it!" another inmate called from behind the crowd again…

But this time, Clary's ears perked up.

She knew that voice…

She would recognize that voice anywhere…

And when he came out from the back of the crowd of inmates, she relaxed a little as her intuition was right.

It was her brother, Jonathan.

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><p><em><strong>They found her brother…<strong>_

_** But they're far from out of the woods yet! Yet again, and you're probably going to get sick of reading this, but THANK YOU ALL FOR READING! Sound off in the reviews! :)  
><strong>_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Thirty-one reviews?! Seriously?! You guys are THE BEST! **_

_**For the record, I'm trying my best to keep them in character. I finished up CoHF way back in the summer, though, and my story isn't anywhere near as good as what CC would write. Please keep all that in mind as you continue reading.**_

_** As of now, though, I don't think you have anything to worry about. **_

_** Oh! And if you all actually read these things (I know I'm guilty of skipping long author's notes, but, please, bear with me) the prompts – while I probably won't cater to all of them – DO HELP. I **__**want**__** to hear what you guys want to read! And if I can make 'em work, I will. **_

_**After all, it did make one part a WHOLE HECK OF A LOT EASIER TO LEAD INTO. **_

_** Eh, you'll see what I mean in the next couple chapters. I'm not really one for spoilers. ;) **_

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><p>"Nobody's killin' anybody." Jonathan said, as he came face-to-face with the leader. "Hawk, this is my sister."<p>

'Hawk,' who was apparently the leader of this bunch, snarled again.

"Let them walk, and I promise, they won't say anything about you." Jonathan prodded again.

Hawk re-cocked his gun, "Aight, we got some guards to take care of anyway. Wouldn't want to waste the bullets."

"Man, you can't be serious! She's the hottest piece of ass around here in a long time, though!"

Clary swore she heard a low growl at that moment again, but couldn't tell whether it was her brother, or…Jace.

_Jace?_

But, as if Jonathan had snapped his fingers, the men seemed to forget all about them, turned around and were gone.

"Jonathan!" Clary squealed, as Jace's embrace released her from the wall and she squeezed her brother.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Jonathan remarked, pushing her by the shoulders off of him.

"She was trying to get you out of here." Jace retorted.

"What?" Jonathan, who was looking at Jace when he had spoken, glanced at Clary, who nodded, and slightly pulled the envelope out of her pocket.

"Clary, where the hell did you get all that money? I know how much I'm in here for..."

Clary shook her head, "That's not important…"

"Of course it's important! I can handle myself fine in here, but you…damnit, Clary, what the hell did you do?"

"Jonathan, trust me, please, it's not that bad…"

"She's trying to bail you out and she doesn't even get so much as a 'thank you'?" Jace sneered, his arms now crossed over his chest.

Jonathan looked up at him, "Look, you're on pretty good terms with me right now for helping her. Don't blow that. Who the hell are you anyway?"

"Jace."

"_Is_ he your boyfriend?" Jonathan asked, looking at Clary.

"No…he just…he was being detained or arrested or whatever when this whole circus started. He was in the lobby with me when an inmate came through and shot the two guards who were with us."

Jonathan looked over at Jace who could only nod.

"He…um…also saved my life…" Clary added.

Jonathan glanced at Jace again, who this time, smirked, nodded, held up two fingers and added, "Twice."

"Well, then," Jonathan let go of Clary and walked up to Jace, holding out his hand, "thank you."

He and Jace shook hands.

"Now, can we get the hell out of here, please?" Clary asked. "This place scares the crap out of me."

Jonathan and Jace nodded. "After you." Jace motioned to Jonathan. "You know the place better than I do."

Jonathan suddenly ripped the front zipper of his jumpsuit open and pulled the gun out of his waistband that neither Clary nor Jace knew he had, but he cocked it and used it to escort their way.

Clary wondered where the hell he had gotten that.

_He wasn't really part of this, was he?_

Clary shook her head again.

Belatedly, Clary then wondered when the hell Jonathan had learned to use a gun.

Jonathan rounded a corner…and continued right.

"Hey, Jonathan, what are you doing? The entrance is back that way…"

"Clary, by now the only guards who are still alive have called the cops. The entrance will _definitely _be swarming with them, and they're certainly in hell not going to let me just waltz out like they will you two."

"He's got a point." Jace chimed in; thankful he was still in his civilian clothes.

"So, we'll find you some new clothes." Clary added.

"Where, Clary? If I steal a dead cops' uniform, they're going to assume I'm injured, rush me to the hospital, run my fingerprints and bam, I'm right back in here…"

"And we will be too…" Jace added.

"Oh, come on." Clary said, exasperated, "Where the hell do they do your laundry?"

"I'm sure they have a room in here somewhere. I've never seen it, and it's probably locked anyway. But, there's no time for that. We've got to get out while we still have a slight chance of being unseen. That's the only option."

"Or, you two could…"

"Clary…" Jonathan began to chide.

"No, wait, I want to hear this suggestion…" Jace pleaded, holding a hand up to Jonathan and slightly smirking.

"Jace, you could just give him your shirt. I'm sure it would fit…"

"Oh? And what are we going to do about pants, Clary. This is a one-piece…" Jonathan asked.

"Clary, if you wanted me to take my shirt off, all you had to do was ask." Jace retorted.

Clary's cheeks flushed a very bright red that engulfed almost the whole side of her face. "What? No, Jace, that's not…"

"Hey, you two, enough. _If_ it comes down to that, we'll figure something out. _You_," Jonathan pointed at Jace, "don't talk to my sister like that again."

"In my defense, I talk like that to all…" Jace replied, holding up two hands to prove his innocence.

"I don't care," Jonathan interrupted, "you aren't going to talk to my sister like that again. Got it?" and, not waiting for a response, Jonathan spun on his heel to continue walking.

Jace sighed, but nodded.

"Jon, what about Simon? He's out front waiting for me."

"I should've known. Call him, ask him what's happening on his end, and tell him to try to come around back and pick us up."

Clary pulled out her phone.

"Who's Simon?" Jace asked.

"My best friend." Clary answered, holding the phone to her ear.

"Oh… Poor, poor bastard." Jace said, smirking again and shaking his head.

Clary furrowed her brows before asking, "What do you mean?"

Jace's smirk turned into a smile at her question, and Simon picked up on the second ring. They could all hear the conversation through the phone.

"Clary?! Where the hell are you?! What's going on? Prisoners started piling out and then next thing I know, the cops come and there's a shootout, and now they're telling me to move my car and all kinds of shit…"

"Simon, I'm fine. Look, there's been a prison break, and I'm…"

"A prison break?! _What_?! Clary, you need to get out of there right now!"

"Simon, I'm okay, I found Jon…"

"And me, don't forget me." Jace quickly added.

"Right…and Jace, but look, Simon…"

"Jace? Who the hell is Jace?"

"Just someone I met, look Simon, I need you to try to come around back and pick us up, okay?"

"Us? Wait, you, your brother, and that Jace guy? Clary! You don't even know him!"

"Simon! Now's not the time! Just please, try to come around back…" Clary begged, exasperated.

At that moment, Clary made eye-contact with Jace again, and there was just something about that look that Jace was giving her that Clary couldn't place her finger on.

"Okay, just be careful. There are cops just about everywhere out here and they have no idea what's going on inside. From what I could hear, it sounds like most, if not all of the guards are dead…"

"Simon."

"Alright, alright. Isn't this place like a giant circle with weeds and grass surrounding it though? Are the cops going to let me back there without a valid excuse?"

Clary quickly looked at Jonathan…who had a look of defeat on his face.

"Simon just exit the parking lot, and try to make your way to the closest road at the back of the building. We'll figure out how to get to you."

And with that Clary hung up.

"So, now what?" she asked, throwing her arms out to her sides.

"We continue to the back of the building." Jonathan said.

"Simon, huh?" Jace sneered at her, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What's your problem?" Clary asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

Jace shrugged, "I'm told I have a lot of those…"

"Oh, _I'm_ sure." Clary countered before he could finish, and he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Hey! You two! Can we keep it moving, please!?" Jonathan yelled back at them from across the hallway. They hadn't even realized he'd been moving. They quickly ran up behind him, and, at that moment, an inmate rounded the corner right in front of Jonathan.

Jace and Clary came to an abrupt stop behind Jonathan as both Jonathan and the inmate's hands rose in anticipation of shooting.


	4. Chapter 4

_**My apologies for the longer-than-usual update, but this is also a longer-than-usual chapter… ;)**_

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><p>"Just let us keep walkin'…" Jonathan said. The guy looked him up and down, then did the same with Jace and Clary, but nodded his head and motioned his gun. As they walked past him, he grabbed Jonathan on the shoulder.<p>

"They ain't gonna tell the outside what's goin' on, right?"

Jonathan shook his head, "I'll be with them; so that's a hell no."

The guy grunted, but let Jonathan's shoulder go, and they walked down another hallway.

Suddenly, Jonathan stopped and turned around. Clary, who was in the middle of the two men, almost ran into him.

"Jace, ever used a gun before?"

Jace smirked, but nodded.

"Good." Jonathan bent down to his ankle, and tossed a Ruger LC9 at him. "If anything happens to me, all I ask is that you get her to Simon. Can you do that for me?"

"Jon, nothing's going to happen to you…" Clary started.

"Agreed," Jace replied, "but she's got a point. _We're_ probably safer because you're with us. I don't think you're much of a threat to these guys…hence why they're letting us go."

"I'm not just talking about inmates. If we get outside, promise me, if the cops shoot at me, you'll take her and get to Simon. After he drops you off where you want to go, I don't give a rat's ass what you do."

"Deal." Jace nodded.

"What?! No, Jon…Jon, I'm not going to let anything happen to you…"

"Clary, _if_ it comes down to that, you do not resist the cops, do you understand me?"

Clary shook her head, "No, Jon, no…I…"

Jonathan held up a hand and they continued walking. This time, he and Jace were up front.

"I think we're almost to the yard…" Jonathan said.

"And where is that to the end?" Jace asked.

"Half-way." Jonathan stated, a little depressingly. "The good news is that most of the inmates are in the cafeteria, because that's where most of the guards are being held. And we've already passed that."

Suddenly, the two men heard muffled screams coming from behind them, and when they turned around, they barely saw Clary's shoe rounding a corner.

"Clary!" they both screamed at once as they followed.

Jace turned to him, "You go around a back way. I'll follow."

Jonathan nodded and they split up. The guy had somehow gotten a good jump on them even though both Jace and Jonathan thought Clary was right behind them. Jace was barely catching Clary's foot going around every corner.

"Stop!" Jace yelled, but it was of no use.

Just then, he found that he was face-to-face with the inmate who had taken her, and the inmate's back was against a wall. There were two hallways on either side of them, and Jace wondered why the man had stopped.

That's when Jace realized that he was the same one who wanted 'a piece of ass' earlier.

That's when he saw the guy's hand on Clary's chest. Clary was using both of her hands to try to pry him off of her, but she was no match for an inmate.

"Let her go." Jace said, and even Clary, amid her struggling, could tell that Jace was dangerously pissed.

"What are you going to do, pretty boy? Shoot me? Not while she's standing in front of me." He smiled.

"And what do you think? That I'm just going to walk away?" Jace retorted.

"If you were smart, you would. She's a lost cause anyway. A little prude. And she's not going to want anyone but me after I get done with her."

The guy's grip on Clary got even rougher than it was before, and she had to bite her lip and close her eyes to stifle the scream. Desperately, she still kept both of her hands on his arm, still trying to pry him off of her.

Jace could feel his body heating up, until he heard a gunshot. Clary stifled a scream as she braced for her impact with the floor, but Jace rushed up and caught her. Her hair now had even more blood than before matted in it, and her back was covered, but Jace didn't care.

"Did you shoot him?" Clary, looking up, asked Jace.

As Jace was shaking his head, 'no,' Jonathan came up from the hallway to their left. "No, I did. Sorry, that you were so close to him, little sis; but, you see, Jace, that's what happens when you talk to, about, or touch my sister like that. Let's go. Clary, stay behind me, Jace, if you wouldn't mind taking up the back…"

Jace nodded his head in agreement and the three started moving again.

"Jon, how much farther do we have?" Clary asked.

"Not too much…"

As they walked, they continued to run into armed inmates, and Clary suddenly began wondering where all these inmates were getting their gun supply from. Surely the guards didn't carry this much on them? And, wouldn't this be a very good example not to? The inmates didn't seem to give them a second glance, though, at least, not the ones who they were running into now. Clary had a feeling that if they had run into Hawk again, he might not have let them go after what they had done to that guy…

Just then, Jonathan stopped walking, and Clary ran into him. Jace, who was turned around and slightly walking backwards, walked into her as well.

Clary focused her attention on what Jon was doing.

"Damnit!" Jon swore. Clary then realized that he was attempting to open a door.

"What's wrong?" Clary asked him.

"It's locked!" Jon yelled, clearly frustrated. They had come all the way across the prison…for what? A locked door? It couldn't be true…

"Please, allow me…" Jace said, stepping forward, as he aimed his gun, Jonathan made sure Clary was behind him.

"Jace, what the hell are you think…" before he could finish the sentence, Jace threw the gun up, took aim, braced himself, and fired into the handle of the door.

Once…twice…then three times – until finally, the handle broke, and he kicked the door out.

Clary was dumbfounded, standing and staring. She couldn't believe what she had just watched.

Sure, she had heard about people breaking out of prison, but she thought that always meant digging secret tunnels under rooms, and secret communications in the cafeteria…certainly _not_ blowing door handles off with a gun and kicking them down.

That was some Superman shit.

And here, Jace had done it…like he did it for a living.

It was then that Clary remembered she really didn't know anything about this Jace guy…except that he _had_ saved her life…on more than one occasion. And she still had no clue why.

She was determined to find out.

"As much as I enjoy women staring at me, we really need to get moving." Jace said, as Jonathan was making sure no one was behind them.

Clary shook her head to clear her thoughts and followed him outside…where a whole other battle would await them.

As Clary looked straight ahead, she saw nothing but grass, weeds, hay, corn, whatever it was, it was taller than all of them…and had certain pathways, which was just like a maze.

"Hey! You three! Stop!" Suddenly, from their left an officer started running towards him, and behind him were more men in blue.

"Run!" Jonathan and Jace yelled at the same time, as they practically dove into the corn maze.

"This is stupid!" Clary yelled.

"Don't talk." Jonathan said. "Not until we lose them."

"But how are we going to…" Clary asked, just as Jonathan grabbed her and threw them both down to the ground. Clary then realized they were in a dead end with two short corners, but she didn't remember ever turning…or anything of the sort. Jonathan had a hand over her mouth as Jace crouched down next to them, and Clary was feeling an extremely familiar case of déjà vu.

Sighing, she crossed her arms over her chest until her brother would let her go.

Unfortunately for all of them, that is when Simon decided to call Clary back.

Both men's eyes flew open and looked at her, digging through her pockets to find it.

"Stay here." Clary muttered, seeing the panic spread through both men.

"Cl…" Jonathan started, but no sooner had she shrugged him off of her, did she walk out into the part of the maze where she could be seen again.

"Hey! You there!"

"Officer! Please! You gotta help me! They kidnapped me…I…"

"Are you hurt, miss?"

"No, no, the blood's not mine. But listen, they went that way after they heard my phone go off! Thank god my best friend decided to call me back…"

"Okay, okay, I'm going to need you to calm down, and show me which way they went."

"Um, that way." Clary pointed to the direction that was best opposite to where they were.

"Thank you." The officer muttered. "Stay here, okay? I will come back and get you when I know it's safe, but they have very little chance of running into you again…"

"Um, officer, I would so much rather be out of here…with all the blood splatter on me and all…"

Jace smirked, and Jonathan snickered, hearing what Clary was doing. She was playing the part of the damsel in distress, and slightly confused very, very well.

The officer shook his head though, "I'm sorry, I don't have the maze map on me, and it would be really difficult for me to direct you in the proper way to go…"

"Could you please try? It's better than being stuck staring at the same thing…at least I would be walking."

"I should really get someone to escort you…"

"That won't be necessary. I'm fine, _really_…I…I just want to get out of here and go home."

Clary was pleased with herself in the fact that at least some of that was true.

The officer took a deep breath and looked back up at her, "Okay," Jace, Jonathan, and Clary all took mental notes as he was giving her directions to get out of there as best he could.

"Thank you, officer." Clary said, as she started in the direction he had told her. When she rounded the corner, she stopped, crouched down and waited for him to leave so she could go back for Jonathan and Jace.

Once the officer drew his gun and turned into the direction that she had said the fugitives had gone, he started at a brisk walk.

After making sure he was definitely out of sight, Clary walked back to where the guys were.

"Hey, coast's clear." She said, as they were now seated out of sight. Clary put her hand out to Jonathan, and did her best to pull him up. Once Jonathan was on his feet, Clary looked back down at Jace who smirked and held out his hand. Jonathan also stuck out his hand, and Jace grabbed both, quickly getting to his feet.

"Alright, so we have to go that way and then basically go in a zig-zag. I don't know why the officer didn't just tell me that, but the way he explained it, it sounded like that…"

Jonathan nodded in agreement, "Yeah, maybe he was trying to…" Jonathan trailed off.

"For any fugitives who could hear him…you know, like us." Jace added, quietly.

"Come on, I do really, really, want to get out of here." Clary said, and started to lead the way. Before she could walk off, though, Jonathan grabbed her shoulder.

"You're in the middle, remember?" he said as both he and Jace cocked their weapons. "What did Simon want?"

"Oh! I never got to answer…" Clary said, pulling out her phone and dialing Simon's number.

* * *

><p><em><strong>They finally made it out of the prison, but now they're caught in a maze. <strong>_

_**I'm sorry if it seems as though I'm dragging the story on, but I feel like these events are…at least somewhat realistic. I mean, were they really going to escape a prison without some of this stuff happening? Okay, okay, maybe there isn't a maze at real prisons, but I thought that would be an interesting touch. **_

_**And, just as a slight spoiler to keep you all interested, here's some of what's coming up in the next chapter…**_

_As if on cue, he came out from behind one of the corners, smiling a bone-chilling smile. "Put your guns down, and all of you get on the ground! Hands on your heads! Do it, now!"_

_ We all exchanged a look before kneeling down, and putting our hands on our heads. _

_ When he was just a few feet away from me, though, suddenly, a second shooter came out from the maze, and, shot the first. _

_ Before any of us could react, a third shooter came out of nowhere, and shot the second. _

_ Then their aim trained on us, and before any of us knew it, a shot had been fired._

_ The next thing I knew, I was on the ground looking up at the sky. There was a lot of yelling, and…screaming? My clothes were getting soaked around my right side. I tried to look down to see what the hell it could be, but it was suddenly painful to bend at the waist. I put my hand there and when I brought my hand back up to look at it, it was covered in red._

_ It couldn't have been anything but blood._

_ I had been shot._


	5. Choices, choices

_**So, since I am having an absolute BLAST writing for this story…and since that gunshot could've gone two ways, and some of you have already asked for two different people to be shot… I'm going to do something I've never done for a story before.**_

_**I'll let you all pick which one you want to read about.**_

_**Feel free to PM me with your vote, ideas, and such…but…I would really, really, really prefer reviews.**_

_**I'll probably count up the votes on Saturday…but I'm not too sure when exactly I'll have time, so just keep voting…you never know.**_

_** And now, please, enjoy the longest chapter I've posted in any of my stories. ;)**_

* * *

><p><strong>Scene number one…<strong>

"Simon?" Clary asked.

"Clary? Clary where are you guys?"

"Um…we're in the maze behind the prison…"

"A maze?! Clary, you…" Simon's voice had gone up a couple octaves.

"Simon! _Calm down_, please. You're stressing me out. Are you around back or not?"

"Yeah, but that's what I was going to ask you, how do you propose to get over the gate? It's a live wire…"

Jonathan and Jace exchanged a look.

"I think we'll be okay. I can climb, and I'm sure the two fugitives I'm with can too…" Clary trailed off, looking at the two men with her, who were exchanging a look.

"Why didn't the damn officer tell you about the gate?" Jonathan muttered.

"Jon, we can climb gates – we've been climbing since we were little…"

"Alright, Simon, look, we'll figure it out...just, please, wait there. We'll be there shortly."

"Okay, and Clary?"

"Yes, Simon?"

"Be safe."

Clary smiled, looking at the two guys…and the guns in their hands…"I don't think I have to worry about that, Simon, but thank you. I will." With that, she hung up.

"You should've told him to stop calling you…" Jace sneered.

"Hmm, someone sounds jealous…" Clary sing-songed.

"Hardly. If he calls you again, who knows who will be around to hear your ringtone that time?"

"Well, for your information, I already put it on vibrate."

"Mmm, good." Jace replied, and they started moving.

"I'm not sure why the officer didn't tell me about the gate, but I'm not worried about it."

"Clary, it's got a _live wire_ on the top…."

"Yeah, and?"

"If we touch it, we'll be electrocuted…"

"So, we don't touch it."

"She's a little naïve." Jace added, looking at Jonathan.

"Yeah, I know, I suppose it's my fault…"

"Hey! Dumb and Dumber, I'm not naïve, I know what a live-wire is. What? You two have never climbed over a fence with a live wire before?"

Jonathan's mouth dropped. "Clary…when have you…"

"I've been through a lot since you've been gone." Clary replied.

"Yeah, and don't think we've dropped the topic for the explanation of where you got that money either."

"Oh, I think I can help you with that one." Jace smirked.

Clary's eyes widened, "Jace! Whatever theory is going on inside your head is probably the opposite of what happened…"

"Hey!" Jonathan said. "You two, enough of that!"

"Oh, and by the way, where is your girlfriend, Isabelle, hmm? Tired of bailing your ass out of jail?" Clary asked, crossing her arms over her chest and eyeing him up.

For a moment, that comment took Jace by surprise. He didn't think she had that in her, but he quickly shook that off and replied with, "Isabelle isn't my girlfriend. Why? Are _you_ jealous?" He narrowed his eyes.

"Definitely not. I just figured the way she was talking to you…"

"Isabelle's my sister, if you must know."

"Oh, well, where is she?"

"Now, that part, you were right about." Jace muttered.

"Ha! I knew it." Clary said.

Jace couldn't help but to chuckle at her small feat. "Women like a bad boy…"

"Oh, really?"

"Hey! Shut the _hell_ up already! We need to move!" Jonathan said, stepping in between them.

He immediately started walking in the direction they were supposed to go, and Jace motioned for Clary to go behind him, and once again, Jace was in the back.

"Hey, Jon…" Clary asked.

"Yes, Clary." He replied, not stopping or turning around.

"Why do you think the prisoners aren't really trying to escape the prison?"

"They might know of a better way to go, or may feel safer in there. After all, they took out almost all, if not all, of the guards. The police have to go through a maze to get to them, and with all the entrances covered, it seems like a pretty good plan."

"Oh." Clary said, suddenly feeling uneasy. She wondered what the men who had let them go were in for…and what the one who tried to kidnap her was in for too; although, she had a pretty good guess….

Being lost in thought, Clary barely pulled herself together to stop and crouch down behind Jonathan and Jace who were ducking through the maze to look at something around the corner. When Clary got down and looked through where Jonathan was holding the corn apart, she saw two orange uniforms.

"They shot Marcus, man! They shot Marcus!"

"Yeah, well what was Marcus doing? We both know he's not exactly innocent."

"Neither are the two men she's with! She's probably a whore to one of them…if not both! I mean, what was she here for? Either to see them…or to get them out…"

Clary could see both Jonathan and Jace tense up.

She understood why Jonathan was doing it, but Jace? What reason did he have to be mad at what the men were saying?

"…But, D…they still shot Marcus!"

"I wish they would've shot you! Shut the hell up before a cop hears you!"

"Aight, just tell me this; if we see them, can we shoot them?"

"I'm not. I don't need another murder hangin' over my head, but if you want to, by all means, go for it."

Clary barely stifled a gulp as she looked at Jonathan and Jace. If that prisoner found them, they were dead…because they killed Marcus. Clary supposed Marcus was the guy who tried to kidnap her…or whatever the idiot was trying to do.

Jonathan grabbed her hand, and dragged her away from the scene unfolding before them. Jace followed.

After Jonathan knew they were in the clear of the two inmates they had just overhead, they started jogging. The corners were coming quicker and quicker, and pretty soon they were almost dodging the maze.

The next thing Clary knew, when she looked up, she saw a gate.

She could hardly contain the excitement within her.

Then, as if some other-worldly force was trying to stop them, they hit a wall. They had to choose right or left.

Jonathan stopped and frantically searched around.

"What's…" Clary asked, stepping around him and seeing that there was no way to go straight.

"The cop lied to you." Jonathan turned around to her, and he put his hands on her shoulders so he could see what was behind them. Jace turned too.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Jace whispered to him.

"The cop might have followed her."

Jace nodded, and Jonathan nodded in agreement. Both put their guns up and searched around.

As if on cue, the officer came out from behind one of the corners.

"Well, well, well." He said, holding his gun at them.

"It's two on one, you're not going to win." Jonathan said.

The officer shrugged, "Oh, but I already have."

"What?" Jace asked, as all three of them were confused with that comment.

Without further comment, the officer smiled a bone-chilling smile. "Put your guns down. My aim isn't on you two…"

Jace and Jonathan exchanged another look before both kneeling down, one hand in the air, and putting the guns on the ground.

"Good boys. Now, stay on the ground and put your hands on your head. Do it! Now!"

Jace and Jonathan were on their knees with their hands on their heads, and Clary could tell, they were fuming. The officer started approaching them.

As he was a few feet away from Clary, though, to everyone's surprise, an inmate came out from the maze.

"Not so fast, officer. How about you do the same?"

The officer turned around and bullets went flying. The inmate shot the cop, who went down – not able to turn around in time.

As the inmate started advancing toward them, though, he suddenly straightened up, before falling to the ground himself.

Behind him stood a female officer, eyes dark, expression hard.

Before any of them could react, a shot was fired.

Jace reacted quickly, picking up his gun and firing back.

The female officer went down.

But it was too late.

Out of the corner of their eyes, both Jace and Clary saw Jonathan go down.

"No!" Clary screamed as though she was auditioning for a horror film, and Jace went wide-eyed.

"Jonathan!" her voice was still at that high-pitch, and before Jace could gather his thoughts, Clary's eyes were filling with tears.

"Do something!" She shouted at Jace.

He shook his head to clear his mind and placed his hands on the wound to the right side of Jonathan's stomach.

"Clary!" Jace yelled at her. She had her hands covering her nose and mouth, tears rapidly streaming down her face.

"Clary!" Jace screamed again, and this time she looked at him.

"Put your hands here, and press down, hard!"

She nodded and did as she was told.

No sooner had her hands covered his, and he removed his hands, did he fiercely shrug off his t-shirt, rip it almost in half, but leaving it intact, and tie it around Jonathan's mid-section.

"Jace! What are you…"

"My brother's a doctor." Was Jace's only reply. As they watched Jonathan's eyes droop, and sometimes close, Jace lightly smacked him on the cheek.

They heard a grumbled noise come from Jonathan, but other than that, he was mostly silent, just looking at them.

Then he sucked in a breath through his teeth.

"That freaking _hurt_!" He seethed, placing one of his own hands on the wound.

"I need you to stay calm." Jace told him, sternly.

"I just got shot!"

"I'm aware."

"Then how the hell do you…"

"That's _not_ staying calm."

"But what…"

"Shut up."

"I…"

"I said, shut up. How much clearer do you want me to get?" Jace eyed him.

Jonathan sighed and looked down, but Jace put his hand on Jonathan's forehead, keeping him staring up.

"Don't do that."

Jonathan furrowed his brows as a challenge as Jace let him go, and Jace glared, "I said, don't do that."

"And I'm really getting tired of you ordering me around."

"Do you want me to save _your_ life, or not?"

"Just…just shut up, Jon." Clary said, weakly. Her face stained with tears that were still falling, but slower now; and her voice weaker.

Jonathan bit back whatever reply he had, for Clary's sake.

"Can you walk?" Jace asked.

Jonathan nodded, but as he went to sit up, he suddenly fell backwards, his face contorted with pain.

Clary let out something between a scream and English.

"Alright." Jace muttered, and, putting one arm underneath of Jonathan, and slinging Jonathan's left arm over his shoulders, hoisted him up.

Clary's eyes went wide as Jonathan's face really contorted into pain now.

"Are you sure you should be doing that?"

"Oh, sorry, my back pocket's all out of stretchers." Jace retorted.

"That's not funny, Jace." Clary replied.

"I wasn't being funny. What ideas do you have? I doubt you could support him, and we can't very well leave him here if we have any chance of keeping him alive…"

"I'm taking a gun." Clary said, her mood doing a complete one-hundred-and-eighty degrees.

"You…" Jonathan began.

"I'm…taking…a damn…gun." Clary said through gritted teeth. To Jace's surprise, she picked up Jonathan's gun off the ground and cocked it.

"Let's go. I'm done screwing around with this place."

Jace's eyebrows rose, but _even he_ knew better than to say a word. Beside him, Jonathan was beaming with what Jace could only assume was pride.

Hell, he would be too.

As if Clary couldn't have been more unpredictable, she threw her arms up, and before Jace could even blink, she was throwing herself into the wall of the maze that stood in front of them.

Fortunately for Jace, Jonathan could manage – albeit a little – to walk. Jace removed his right hand from Jonathan's wound to brush away some of the maze from the two of them as they followed Clary through the maze.

The next thing they knew, they had made it to the gate.

"Shield him." Clary said.

"Clary, what are you…"

"Damnit, Jace, I said to shield him." Clary glared at him, and, with only a little time for Jace to react by shielding Jonathan's body away from Clary and the gate; Clary threw her left arm over her face, aimed the gun at a link in the fence, and pulled the trigger.

Once…twice…three…five…seven times, until she had made a hole; squeezing through, she used all the strength the adrenaline was pumping into her to pull the fence back with her, so Jace and Jonathan could come through.

When she had made a hole big enough, Jace sent Jonathan through first, and allowed Clary to hold him up until he had made it through the fence.

As Clary let Jonathan lean on Jace again, she turned around and started at a light jog.

Almost as if he had been waiting for his sister to be safe, though, Jonathan's body suddenly felt heavier than Jace remembered.

When Jace glanced over at him, his eyelids were flickering closed, his head bent forward, and his knees bending – he was going down, and fast.

* * *

><p><strong>And here goes scene number two...<strong>

"Simon?" Clary asked.

"Clary? Clary where are you guys?"

"Um…we're in the maze behind the prison…"

"A maze?! Clary, you…" Simon's voice had risen a couple octaves.

"Simon! _Calm down_, please. You're stressing me out. Are you around back or not?"

"Yeah, but that's what I was going to ask you, how do you propose to get over the gate? It's a live wire…"

Jonathan and Jace exchanged a look.

"I think we'll be okay. I can climb, and I'm sure the two fugitives I'm with can too…" Clary trailed off, looking at the two men with her, who were exchanging a look.

"Why didn't the damn officer tell you about the gate?" Jonathan muttered.

"Jon, we can climb gates – we've been climbing since we were little…"

"Alright, Simon, look, we'll figure it out..just, please, wait there. We'll be there shortly."

"Okay, and Clary?"

"Yes, Simon?"

"Be safe."

Clary smiled, looking at the two guys…and the guns in their hands…"I don't think I have to worry about that, Simon, but thank you. I will." With that, she hung up.

"You should've told him to stop calling you…" Jace sneered.

"Hmm, someone sounds jealous…" Clary sing-songed.

"Hardly. If he calls you again, who knows who will be around to hear your ringtone that time."

"Well, for your information, I already put it on vibrate."

"Mm, good." Jace replied, and they started moving.

"I'm not sure why the officer didn't tell me about the gate, but I'm not worried about it."

"Clary, it's got a _live wire_ on the top…."

"Yeah, and?"

"If we touch it, we'll be electrocuted…"

"So, we don't touch it."

"She's a little naïve." Jace added, looking at Jonathan.

"Yeah, I know, I suppose it's my fault…"

"Hey! Dumb and Dumber, I'm not naïve, I know what a live-wire is. What? You two have never climbed over a fence with a live wire before?"

Jonathan's mouth dropped. "Clary…when have you…"

"I've been through a lot since you've been gone." Clary replied.

"Yeah, and don't think we've dropped the topic for the explanation of where you got that money either."

"Oh, I think I can help you with that one." Jace smirked.

Clary's eyes widened, "Jace! Whatever theory is going on inside your head is probably the opposite of what happened…"

"Hey!" Jonathan said. "You two, enough of that!"

"Oh, and by the way, where is your girlfriend, Isabelle, hm? Tired of bailing your ass out of jail?" Clary asked, eyeing him up.

For a moment, that comment took Jace by surprise. He didn't think she had that in her, but he quickly shook that off and replied with, "Isabelle isn't my girlfriend. Why? Are you jealous?"

"Definitely not. I just figured the way she was talking to you…"

"Isabelle's my sister, if you must know."

"Oh, well, where is she?"

"Now, that part, you were right about."

"Ha! I knew it." Clary said.

Jace couldn't help but to chuckle at her small feat. "Women like a bad boy…"

"Oh, really?"

"Hey! Shut the _hell_ up already! We need to move!" Jonathan said, stepping in between them.

He immediately started walking in the direction they were supposed to go, and Jace motioned for Clary to go behind him, and once again, Jace was in the back.

"Hey, Jon…" Clary asked.

"Yes, Clary." He replied, not stopping or turning around.

"Why do you think the prisoners aren't really trying to escape the prison?"

"They might know of a better way to go, or may feel safer in there. After all, they took out almost all, if not all, of the guards. The police have to go through a maze to get to them, and with all the entrances covered, it seems like a pretty good plan."

"Oh." Clary said, suddenly feeling uneasy. She wondered what the men who had let them go were in for…and what the one who tried to kidnap her was in for too; although, she had a pretty good guess….

Being lost in thought, Clary barely pulled herself together to stop and crouch down behind Jonathan and Jace who were ducking through the maze to look at something around the corner. When Clary got down and looked through where Jonathan was holding the corn apart, she saw two orange uniforms.

"They shot Marcus, man! They shot Marcus!"

"Yeah, well what was Marcus doing? We both know he's not exactly innocent."

"Neither are the two men she's with! She's probably a whore to one of them…if not both! I mean, what was she here for? Either to see them…or to get them out…"

Clary could see both Jonathan and Jace tense up.

She understood why Jonathan was doing it, but Jace? What reason did he have to be mad at what the men were saying?

"…But, D…they still shot Marcus!"

"I wish they would've shot you! Shut the hell up before a cop hears you!"

"Aight, just tell me this; if we see them, can we shoot them?"

"I'm not. I don't need another murder hanging over my head, but if you want to, by all means, go for it."

Clary barely stifled a gulp as she looked at Jonathan and Jace. If that prisoner found them, they were dead…because they killed Marcus. Clary supposed Marcus was the guy who tried to kidnap her…or whatever the idiot was trying to do.

Jonathan grabbed her hand, and dragged her away from the scene unfolding before them. Jace followed.

After Jonathan knew they were in the clear of the two inmates they had just overhead, they started jogging. The corners were coming quicker and quicker, and pretty soon they were almost dodging the maze.

The next thing Clary knew, when she looked up, she saw a gate.

She could hardly contain the excitement within her.

Then, as if some other-worldly force was trying to stop them, they hit a wall. They had to choose right or left.

Jonathan stopped and frantically searched around.

"What's…" Clary asked, stepping around him and seeing that there was no way to go straight.

"The cop lied to you." Jonathan turned around to her, and he put his hands on her shoulders so he could see what was behind them. Jace turned too.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Jace whispered to him.

"The cop might have followed her."

Jace nodded, and Jonathan nodded in agreement. Both put their guns up and searched around.

As if on cue, the officer came out from behind one of the corners.

"Well, well, well." He said, holding his gun at them.

"It's two on one, you're not going to win." Jonathan said.

The officer shrugged, "Oh, but I already have."

"What?" Jace asked, as all three of them were confused with that comment.

Without further comment, the officer smiled a bone-chilling smile. "Put your guns down. My aim isn't on you two…"

Jace and Jonathan exchanged another look before both kneeling down, one hand in the air, and putting the guns on the ground.

"Good boys. Now, stay on the ground and put your hands on your head. Do it! Now!"

Jace and Jonathan were on their knees with their hands on their heads, and Clary could tell, they were fuming. The officer started approaching them.

As he was a few feet away from Clary, though, to everyone's surprise, an inmate came out from the maze.

"Not so fast, officer. How about you do the same?"

The officer turned around and bullets went flying. The inmate shot the cop, who went down – not able to turn around in time.

As the inmate started advancing toward them, though, he suddenly straightened up, before falling to the ground himself.

Behind him stood a female officer, eyes dark, expression hard.

Before anyone knew what was happening, she fired.

Jace and Jonathan reacted quickly, picking up their guns and firing back.

But it was too late.

Out of the corner of their eyes, both Jace and Jonathan saw Clary go down.

"No!" Jonathan yelled, and he managed to get his arms under Clary before she hit the ground.

"Clary!" Jonathan yelled.

Jace surveyed her, the bullet had gone into the side of her stomach. He thought officers were supposed to have better aim than that, but after shooting an inmate, who was possibly blocking her view, maybe not.

That's when both men realized Clary was still conscious…but barely.

And she was looking at Jace.

"Oh my god!" Jonathan was frantic. "You're just staring at her! I guarantee that's not going to help her!"

"And just what the hell do I look like? A doctor?" Jace retorted.

"Clary, please…stay with us…"

Jace reacted, placing his hands over the hole to the side of Clary's stomach where her blood was pooling to show Jonathan where to put his. "Well, lucky for you, my brother is. Put pressure on the wound there." After Jonathan's hands covered his, he quickly took his t-shirt off, ripped it, and began tying it around her chest.

"What the hell are you doing? There's no time for that…"

"I'm saving her life, again, and for your information, I have to be half-naked to do that. It would help if we had stronger material though."

Clary couldn't believe what was happening. She had been shot. She was pretty sure there was now a hole to the side of her belly button. What did that female officer have against her?

And then Jace was taking his shirt off and wrapping it around her.

And she couldn't stop staring at his six-pack…but it could've been more. Clary was trying not to focus on it. This must have been what shock and an adrenaline rush felt like.

"Now, you had to go and make me take my shirt off, didn't you Clary?"

She smiled at that one, though; and she was calmer.

Jace smirked as he saw the smile playing on her lips.

"Hey, Jace. This is no time for jokes like that! She's _dying_."

"She should be fine, as long as we stop the bleeding. It looks like the bullet missed any vital organs, and didn't hit any important arteries. You need to relax. The more you stress her out, the faster her heart pumps her blood and the faster she bleeds out."

"Clary, do you think you're strong enough to stand?" Jace then said, making eye-contact with her.

"No, she can't stand! She's losing blood by the millisecond and you want her walking?!"

"I will not tell you again. You need to calm down and stay that way. The more you stress her out, the better chance she has of dying."

"Well, what are we going to do if we get her out of here, huh? We can't just waltz her into a hospital…"

"And even if _Simon_ takes her, they'll want to question her as to what happened. No, you're right, it would be best if we steered clear of hospitals. My brother's a doctor. We could take her back to my house…" Jace began.

"Your house? Definitely not."

"Do you have any better ideas? My _brother's_ a _doctor_." Jace asked, his eyes narrowing at Jonathan. After instructing Clary to put pressure on her wound with her right hand – the hand closest to it – he had wrapped her left arm around his shoulders and was helping her stand up.

Once they got on their feet, Clary nodded – indicating she could go on like that…at least, for a little while.

"No." Jonathan muttered, shaking his head, "Why do you have to be the one helping her walk?"

"Jon…please." Clary said, clutching her side.

"I have to agree, now's really not the time for this argument." Jace responded, and he had one hand holding her hand around his shoulders, and his other hand was helping her apply pressure to her side.

"Fine. I'll lead. Clary, give me your phone. If Simon calls again, I'll answer." Jonathan said, making a mental note to continue this argument later.

Jonathan picked up his backup gun from the ground, took the phone from Clary and turned around – facing a wall once again.

Sighing, Jonathan brought his hands up, and started shoving his way through the wall.

"Stay close." And Jace followed, removing the pressure on Clary's side to block some of the maze from hitting her.

"Why didn't we do this…before?" Clary asked.

"Because it was easier to try to follow the path, and now, it's not." Jonathan replied, not turning around. Before they knew it, they had made it to another path.

And it went straight.

Jonathan started at a light jog to clear the paths ahead of them, but the coast was clear. Jace returned his hand to Clary's side, and holding her hand on his left shoulder, and picked up the pace a little.

Jonathan, being next to the fence now, braced himself and started shooting it.

After three times, he broke through the fence; and with a little help from adrenaline, he pulled the fence apart for Clary and Jace to come through. Jace handed Clary to him for a second and once he was through himself, Jonathan let her lean on Jace again.

Suddenly, he felt as though a huge weight had hit him on the shoulder and he turned his head to look at Clary. Her eyes were closed, and she was going down, fast.

* * *

><p><em><strong>I so hope this is successful…it's at least something different for me, and like I've said before, I enjoy feedback.<strong>_

_** So, which one do you want to read about? Jonathan's shooting…or Clary's?**_

_** P.S. Please, please, please pick ONE! I'm sure (or maybe hoping) that some of you will want to read about both, but it would be difficult to keep up with two different versions.**_

_** Besides, maybe I'll end up writing the other anyway and posting it…somehow.**_

_** Who knows! :)**_

_** Thank you for reading and I look forward to the reviews!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_** As my email flooded with requests of whose shooting you all want to read about, I read one review that really had me intrigued and offered me a challenge at the same time.**_

_** Sandra asked me to write about Jace's POV from the shooting. **_

_** But, I got to thinking…it might make more sense (and be a whole lot more fun) if I started Jace's POV from the beginning. Plus little comments I think he would make would just be…hmm, what's the word I want to use here, hilarious? Awesome?**_

_** And, what about Clary's reactions to them?**_

_** If you all like this one I might keep posting them here and there. ;)**_

* * *

><p>I turned and sat down again after slamming the phone back onto the receiver. I was pissed. Isabelle was leaving me hung out to dry. I guess if I really thought about it, though, I couldn't blame her. This marked the fifth time I had been arrested this week alone.<p>

It's only because of money that they don't hold me…at least so far. With Isabelle not coming though…

Then that stupid guard behind the desk started yelling something at me.

I didn't hear her. I would imagine it was something to the effect of shut the hell up, or calm the hell down because suddenly there was a guard next to me.

Perfect.

As I turned my head back to the guard, though, there _she_ was.

For a brief moment, it was like we were the only two in the room.

_"Um…I got a call from my brother saying he's supposed to be here…"_

How could someone related to her be in here? She just _looks_ like she wouldn't hurt a fly.

Not _couldn't_, though, _wouldn't_ – like she would be one of the protestors fighting for the protection of animals, even if they were making the human population extinct.

I shook my head, not sure of where in the hell that thought came from.

_"No, I'm here to get him out…"_

She's here to bail him out? Lucky, lucky bastard.

_"You do know he's in under a fifteen-thousand-dollar-bond, right?"_

_Fifteen-thousand-dollars_? _She _has that kind of money?

_"Oh, yeah? And where does a girl like you get that kind of money?"_

That's what I just asked.

_"I…I earned it."_

Before I knew what was happening, I heard some sort of growling, and someone said, "Oh, I'm sure you did."

Then, I felt my mouth contort into my infamous smirk.

Shit.

It was me. I said that…and did something to the effect of growling.

Wait, what?

She looked at me, and her face flushed red.

Maybe it was worth it.

Maybe_._

_"This says that you're over eighteen, but you don't look it."_

She's _legal_?

Once again, before I could stop myself, "Wait, you're _legal_?"

Who on Earth is this girl, and how the hell has she got me saying things without thinking? I mean, these aren't like my _usual_ comments that don't need thought.

These comments were the ones that girls scoffed and walked away from me over.

I _usually_ think before saying them…then say them anyway.

But with her?

It was different. Things were different. I felt different. And the words were just coming before I could even think about stopping them…

Kind of like my thoughts now.

I was still dumbfounded when I suddenly felt something grab my arm and I was standing up.

I looked the officer alongside of me up and down, "Whoa, officer, a little forceful, aren't we?"

Then he started dragging me down the hallway.

I was slightly okay with that.

After all, the red-haired girl probably thought I was a pervert now anyway.

That's when all hell broke loose.

An ear-piercing alarm sounded and the guard threw me on the ground as he reached for his weapon.

He wasn't quick enough, though, and I stood up just in time to see the inmate in the adjacent hallway shoot the guard who was standing in front of the girl point blank.

Then his aim was on the girl.

Suddenly, I was barely aware of sitting on the floor in front of the gun…and the girl was lying on the ground behind me.

I was begging for my life…_our_ lives.

Had it been just me, the bastard would've gone down, or I would die trying.

But I couldn't risk him shooting her.

So I resorted to _begging_.

I didn't even _know_ this girl, but she already had me _begging_.

And, I couldn't quite figure out why the hell I wanted so bad _to get to _know her.

Shit.

I was still deciding how I felt about that when whatever I said worked and the man walked away.

Good thing I can and do actually speak without thinking…

Sometimes.

I stood up first, holding out my hand to her, "Come on! Let's get out of here!" I yelled to her, hoping she heard me over the alarms.

"What's going on?!" she asked, as I brought her to her feet.

Was she serious?

"Sounds like a prison break! Let's go! It's this way!" I led her to the door I had been staring at for hours now…

"Wait!" she suddenly yelled, and I was being pulled backwards.

What. The hell. Was she _thinking_? "What the hell are you doing?! We need to go if we intend to make it out of here alive!"

"Not without my brother!" she yelled back at me, and then she ran back over to the desk and grabbed the envelope of money.

She's about to die, and all she can think about is saving her brother? "Your brother will be fine! He's probably already out!"

"How do you know that?!"

Stubborn little…

"I don't! But I'm pretty sure that he wouldn't want you risking your life in a situation like this when you had the opportunity to get out!"

"But…" I was done listening to her. Grabbing her arm again, I led us to the exit.

"Put the money away." I ordered, looking over my shoulder to see that she still had the envelope in her hand.

She's going to be the death of me.

I'm going to die, today, in this stupid prison; and it would be all Isabelle's fault.

Well, technically my fault _and then_ Isabelle's fault, but who wants to get technical?

Suddenly, I stopped dead.

The door had bars over it.

"Shit." I muttered, not expecting that.

And even worse there were prisoners out in the parking lot.

"What?" the girl asked me.

"We're trapped."

"Do you know another way out?" she asked me.

I shook my head, making sure my voice was stronger than I felt now. "No. I wasn't in the best state when I was brought here. I only know this one because I've been watching people come and go morning."

"Well, we have to go back."

Is she crazy? "We can't, we'll likely be shot."

"Well, if we just stay here, we're sitting ducks."

I could feel the cringe in my body before I could stop it. I hate ducks.

"I'm Clary, by the way."

Not scared to introduce herself to strangers, huh? I could feel my smirk forming in my jaw line before it actually hit my face, "Do you always give strangers your name?"

"Well, considering we're about to die, it can't hurt, right?"

Oh, _shit_. Stubborn, little, strong-willed, _and_ she'll give it right back to me?

"Jace." I answered, barely coming out of my thoughts in time again; glad to get introductions out of the way.

"What?" she asked me. At first I couldn't tell if she really didn't hear me, or was being a smartass.

"Jace. My name is Jace." I replied.

"So nice to meet you, Jace, I just wish it were under different circumstances."

Oh, me too. "Yeah, a bedroom would've been so much better."

Damnit. I really needed to learn this filter trick Isabelle keeps scolding me about. Maybe if I actually listened to her…

Instead of scoffing, or getting agitated with me, though, once again, her face just turned a bright shade of red…and her mouth dropped.

To say I was intrigued would be an _understatement_.

Of course, the fact that I was saving her life, and we were trapped in a prison could have had something to do with her not leaving me.

She recoiled pretty quickly, though, "Come on, like you said, we have to move."

After a little while of walking, I suddenly heard, "This place is like a maze…"

Whether that was agitation, or awe, I wasn't sure.

"Well, yeah, prison isn't exactly supposed to be easy to get out of."

She glared at me.

I _really_ needed to stop those comments.

But, her reactions to them were unpredictable, indescribable…amazing…

Amazing? What the hell was this girl doing to me?

Suddenly, my ears perked up and I heard footsteps. I quickly grabbed her by the arm and swung her behind me, thankful we had just come out of a hallway.

I knew she would start talking, so I covered her mouth too.

Before I knew it, we were merely inches apart.

I couldn't tell if it was Clary's heart beating quickly, or…mine.

As I looked into her eyes, though, I knew one thing for sure…

I am so screwed.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Okay so that last line?<strong> "I am so screwed."** I got after reading Jace's POV from the Greenhouse kiss (their first). If you all want me to, I'll post the link to that in my next chapter…but you all can also Google "Jace's POV of the Greenhouse kiss." IT WAS AMAZING, but I don't think it's on CC's website…**_

_** Hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it!**_

_** And thank you all, so very, very much for voting and giving me a ton of freakin' reviews to go through! I LOVED it! Every single second of it!**_


	7. Chapter 7

_** Thank you all so much for the kind words/reviews/PMs/everything else. I truly do appreciate it. I am so sorry for this long update...but I think I made it worth the waittttt ;)**_

_** So you all don't have to back and re-read the version that won, I posted a little rewind for you.**_

* * *

><p><em>Previously…<em>

_ But it was too late. _

_ Out of the corner of their eyes, both Jace and Jonathan saw Clary go down._

_ "No!" Jonathan yelled, and he managed to get his arms under Clary before she hit the ground._

_ "Clary!" Jonathan yelled._

_ Jace surveyed her, the bullet had gone into the side of her stomach. He thought officers were supposed to have better aim than that, but after shooting an inmate, who was possibly blocking her view, maybe not. _

_ That's when both men realized Clary was still conscious…but barely._

_ And she was looking at Jace._

_ "Do something!" Jonathan hissed. "You're just staring at her! I guarantee that's not going to heel her!"_

_ "And just what the hell do I look like? A doctor?" Jace retorted._

_ "Oh my god! Clary, please…stay with us…"_

_ "Well, lucky for you, my brother is. Put pressure on the wound there." Jace reacted, placing his hands over the hole to the side of Clary's stomach where her blood was pooling to show Jonathan where to put his. After Jonathan's hands covered his, he quickly took his t-shirt off, ripped it, and began tying it around her chest._

_ "What the hell are you doing? There's no time for that…"_

_ "I'm saving her life, again, and for your information, I have to be half-naked to do that. It would help if we had stronger material though."_

_ Clary couldn't believe what was happening. She had been shot. She was pretty sure there was now a hole to the side of her belly button. What did that female officer have against her? _

_ And then Jace was taking his shirt off and wrapping it around her. _

_ And she couldn't stop staring at his six-pack…but it could've been more. Clary was trying not to focus on it. This must have been what shock and an adrenaline rush felt like._

_ "Now, you had to go and make me take my shirt off, didn't you Clary?"_

_ She smiled at that one, though; and she was calmer. _

_ Jace smirked as he saw the smile playing on her lips._

_ "Hey, Jace. This is no time for jokes like that! She's dying."_

_ "She should be fine, as long as we stop the bleeding. It looks like the bullet missed any vital organs, and didn't nick any important arteries. You need to relax. The more you stress her out, the faster her heart pumps her blood and the faster she bleeds out."_

_ "Clary, do you think you're strong enough to stand?" Jace then said, making eye-contact with her._

_ "No, she can't stand! She's losing blood by the millisecond and you want her walking?!"_

_ "I will not tell you again. You need to calm down and stay that way. The more you stress her out, the better chance she has of dying."_

_ "Well, what are we going to do if we get her out of here, huh? We can't just waltz her into a hospital…"_

_ "And even if Simon takes her, they'll want to question her as to what happened. No, you're right, it would be best if we steered clear of hospitals. My brother's a doctor. We could take her back to my house…" Jace began._

_ "Your house? Definitely not."_

_ "Do you have any better ideas?" Jace asked, his eyes narrowing at Jonathan. After instructing Clary to put pressure on her wound with her right hand – the hand closest to it – he had wrapped her left arm around his shoulders and was helping her stand up. _

_ Once they got on their feet, Clary nodded – indicating she could go on like that…at least, for a little while._

_ "No." Jonathan muttered. "Why do you have to be the one helping her walk?"_

_ "Jon..please." Clary said, clutching her side._

_ "I have to agree, now's really not the time for this argument." Jace responded, and he had one hand holding her hand around his shoulders, and his other hand was helping her apply pressure to her side._

_ "Fine. I'll lead. Clary, give me your phone. If Simon calls again, I'll answer." Jonathan said, thinking about continuing this argument later._

_ Clary handed over her phone and Jonathan turned around – facing the wall once again._

_ Sighing, Jonathan brought his hands up, and started shoving his way through the wall._

_ "Stay close." And Jace followed, removing the pressure on Clary's side to block some of the maze from hitting her._

_ "Why didn't we do this…before?" Clary asked._

_ "Because it was easier to try to follow the path, and now, it's not." Jonathan replied, not turning around. Before they knew it, they had made it to another path._

_ And it went straight._

_ Jonathan started at a light jog to clear the paths ahead of them, but the coast was clear. Jace returned his hand to Clary's side, and holding her hand on his left shoulder, and picked up the pace a little._

_ Suddenly, he felt as though a huge weight had hit him on the shoulder and he turned his head to look at Clary. Her eyes were closed, and she was going down, fast._

"Jon!" Jace yelled, but Jonathan was a little farther ahead now.

Thinking quickly, Jace shifted their positions and picked her up bridal style, his left hand now applying pressure to her wound, his left shoulder keeping her head steady, and her legs dangling over his right arm.

Jonathan turned around.

"What the hell happened?!" he asked running toward them.

"I don't know, but she's losing consciousness. We need to get her to my house, _now_."

"Okay, okay." Jonathan ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "The gate is up that way, but there's no door or anything. We'll have to shoot our way out."

Jace nodded and they picked up the pace as much as possible.

"You know, you're a lot stronger than you look." Jonathan muttered, smirking at Jace.

Jace furrowed his eyebrows, "Actually, she's not that heavy."

"I know. She probably hasn't been eating right, again."

Jace stayed quiet. He didn't want to think of Clary as an anorexic, but…considering her weight, or lack thereof, he supposed it was a possibility. Truth be told, he was also a little angry that Jonathan had possibly just admitted to something that personal and private about her to him without the slightest hesitation.

He shrugged it off, though, that argument could come up later... _if_ at all.

When he focused on what was ahead of them, again, he realized they had finally come to the gate. Jonathan took aim and started shooting. Jace turned his body so that Clary, for the most part, was behind him in the event of a ricochet.

To the surprise of both men, the bullets started cutting through the fence and Jonathan grabbed a hold of them, literally pulling them apart.

Jace's eyebrows went up, "You're stronger than you look too."

Jonathan smirked, "Yeah, well, my sister's life is at stake. I'm done playing games with this place."

Jace nodded and they took off in as quick a pace as they could.

Jonathan pulled out the cell phone and dialed Simon's number…thankful Clary didn't have a lock on it. He would have to talk to her about that too once they made it out of this.

"Clary?! Clary, where the hell are you guys?! Did you make it out of that maze yet?"

"Simon, it's Jon, we made it out of the maze, we're on some grass. We don't see the road yet, what do you see in regards to our direction?"

"Jon? Oh, hi, um, where's Clary?"

"She's uh…she doesn't want to talk and run at the same time. Now, focus, Simon, where are you?"

After Simon gave him some brief landmarks, Jonathan changed their direction to the left, and, after going through some final trees and brush, they saw his car.

Upon seeing them in his rear-view mirror, Simon got out of the car, and Jonathan and Jace watched his expression change from smile to complete horror as he took a look at the state Clary was in…in _Jace's_ arms.

"Clary!" Simon yelled, but when he started to go to her, Jonathan ran up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Get back in the car, Simon, we need to go. Jace's brother is a doctor, he might be able to help her without a hospital, but we need to leave, now!" Jonathan then turned around, and held his hands out to Jace.

"Come on, give her up, you need to direct Simon where to go."

"Get in, and I'll lower her in to you." Jace said, nudging his head toward the back seat. Jonathan nodded and got in. Jace lowered her in, being careful to not hit her head on the roof or anything of the sort. After making sure she was in, he slammed the door and ran around to the front passenger's side, but not before eyeing Simon up across the car.

"So, you're Jace, huh?" Simon said looking across the car at him too, and pushing his glasses further up his nose.

Jace wanted to laugh, but he stayed quiet, kept his face neutral, and got in the passenger seat.

"Okay, not one for conversation, I see…" Simon muttered to himself and he got in the car.

"Simon, Jace, Jace, Simon. Jace is going to give you directions to get to his house 'cause his brother's a doctor." Jonathan said.

"Okay."

"And, Simon?"

"Yeah, Jon?"

"If I remember riding with you before, I don't give a damn whose car this is, or about speeding tickets, etc. We need to get there, as soon as possible. Go it?"

Simon smiled, turning around. "You don't have to tell me twice." And, to everyone's surprise, he put the pedal to the floor.

"Hang on, Clary…just, hang on…" Jonathan muttered.

After talking a little about directions, Jace just looked out the window. Thankfully, Simon had a pretty good idea of where to go. Jace only had to mutter when to turn right or left otherwise, the ride was quiet. When Jace would turn around, Jonathan looked as though he was on the brink of tears.

But even worse, Clary looked lifeless. Her eyes were still closed, and it was clear she had no control over her body. Jonathan had to keep a steady hold on her head with his shoulder, while using both hands to secure the wound. It wasn't bleeding as badly, and Jace knew that was either a really good thing, or a really, really bad thing.

And, once again, judging by the lifelessness, he was learning toward bad.

To the shock of all three of them, they didn't run into any problems on the road, and made it to Jace's house rather quickly.

"Whoa…" Simon said, looking through the windshield at the mansion before him.

"Try to keep your drool in your mouth." Jace sneered, getting out, and going to the back passenger door.

Jonathan reluctantly helped Clary out of the car as best he could and right back into Jace's arms. For a brief second, he wanted to argue why he was the one who got to carry her, but thought better of it.

After all, the guy had saved her life…three times…and counting.

Just then, a woman with long, flowing black hair came running out of the mansion.

"Jace! What the hell happened?"

"Not now, Izzy, she's been shot. Where's Alec?"

"He's inside. Who are these people?"

"I'll explain everything later, but we've got to get her inside." Jace said, almost through gritted teeth as he shouldered her out of his way.

"Alec!" He called as he jogged in the doors.

Jonathan noticed a somewhat taller man, a little thinner than Jace running out of a room upstairs. He was dressed pretty well…of course, he is a doctor.

"Jace? Jace, what the hell happened?" Alec asked, coming down the steps.

"I'll explain everything later. You still have some stuff here, right?"

Alec nodded, surveying the girl in his brother's arms.

"Yeah, follow me."

Everyone followed Alec and Jace up the stairs and into a room.

"Put her on the bed." Alec said, as he walked around to grab some supplies.

Jace gently laid her down on the bed and looked at his brother. Alec turned around with a scalpel and tweezers.

"What the hell is that for?" Jonathan roared, entering the room.

Jace turned around to stop Jonathan from getting to Alec.

"Hey, calm down, she's in good hands now. You need to let him do his job. Come on…that goes for all of us."

They all walked out of the room, Jace having to practically drag Jonathan behind him.

"No! She's my sister! I need to be in there!"

"You need to give him room to work!" Jace shouted back.

Taking a deep breath, and realizing he wasn't getting around Jace any time soon, Jonathan backed up and ran both of his hands through his hair.

"Jace…is any of that…your blood?" Isabelle asked, pointing.

Jace looked down at himself and wondered how many showers it was going to take to get all of the blood off of him. He almost looked like he was wearing a red shirt.

Realizing Isabelle had formed that as a question, he shook his head, "No, it's all … Clary's." Jace hesitated, but said her name and looked at Jonathan.

He took in a sharp breath.

"You should probably go get a shower, especially since you're not sitting on any of the furniture like that. And you…sporting a jumpsuit…should probably get some different clothes."

Jace and Jonathan exchanged a look, seeming to know where Isabelle was headed, and Jace shrugged and jerked his neck in the way of a room.

Jonathan nodded and followed.

After Jace shut the door and started rifling through his drawers, Jonathan made a comment that almost got him thrown out the window head first.

Almost.

"Wow. I didn't think I would be the first Morgenstern to see your bedroom."

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><p><strong><em>Ohhhhh snap! H really just said that! It's about to go downnnnn !<em>**

**_See you in the soon to come next chapter ;)_**


	8. Chapter 8

_**To the reviewer who said that they love drama, this chapter sure does have a lot of it! But, hopefully it'll answer some questions…or bring new ones to light…or make some more confused….I'm not quite sure which one I'm hoping for yet. ;)**_

* * *

><p>Jace's eyes narrowed as he turned around and strode right up to Jonathan, "And just what the hell does that mean, exactly?"<p>

"Oh, come on, the gig is up. Why else did you help her? Why not just save your own skin and leave her…especially if you needed to get out yourself. With her slowing you down…please. _I_ might not have even saved her under those circumstances…"

Jace punched him in the jaw.

Jonathan stumbled backwards as Jace approached him, grabbing him by the shoulders of the jumpsuit and narrowing his eyes, "You're telling me you would've left your own _sister_ to die alone in a man's prison to save your own ass?"

Jonathan could tell Jace was deathly close to…well…causing Jonathan's death.

Belatedly, Jonathan wondered what Jace was incarcerated for.

Jonathan pushed him backwards. "Will you _relax_? God, you've got it worse than I thought. Of course I would've saved my sister, but had I been you? I would've probably left her behind. Which leads me to why you saved her, and I can only think of one reason…"

"Okay" Jace said, "I can guarantee you two things: the first is that you're wrong, and the second is that if you don't shut the hell up soon, you're going to be _dead_ wrong." Jace crossed his arms over his chest and glared…_daring_ him to say something else.

Jonathan threw his hands up, "Oh I believe you. But I also believe you like her. You have yet to deny it."

Jace glared. Truth be told, he had already thought of many different ways to pick him up to throw him out the window from where Jon was standing…which was actually quite a distance…

"I don't like your sister."

"Dude, you can't bullshit me."

"I don't like your sister." Jace repeated, arms fully crossed over his chest and he continued glaring.

Jonathan threw his arms up in surrender, "Alright, whatever dude. I'm not going to sit here and argue the point. Are Alec and Isabelle your real family?"

Jace let out a sigh at Jonathan's change of subject, and turned back to grabbing some clothes, contemplating not answering him, "No. I was adopted. Why?"

Jonathan shrugged, "No reason."

Jace threw a black t-shirt at him, and followed the t-shirt to get right in Jonathan's face. "I've known you, what, a couple hours, and I know that you had a reason for asking me that. Spit it out."

"Just the way Alec looks at you…"

Jace punched him again, "You _really_ must not like your jaw where it is."

"Damn, you're a violent piece of shit, aren't you?" Jonathan said, sitting on the floor and rubbing his jaw.

"Only when people insult my family…or theirs…"

"No wonder you were in there. _Damn_." Jonathan plowed on as though he hadn't heard Jace's comment. "Anyway, you can't tell me you've lived with him and haven't seen it."

Jace just glared before turning back around and grabbing a pair of sweats and throwing them at him. "Burn those when you're done with them and get the hell out of my room."

"So, you have seen it." Jonathan's eyes narrowed.

Jace scoffed, "Yes, I've seen it. I'm not interested. There, he's all yours."

Jonathan's eyes went wide, "Oh, no…I…"

Jace smirked, and nodded, "Sure. Whatever. I really don't care. Don't stick your nose in my business and I won't in yours."

"Jace, I'm not…"

Jace held a hand up, "Ah, no explanation necessary, _please_."

"Jace! I am not gay!" Jonathan yelled.

Jace laughed. "Well, _that_ was convincing. Oh, and by the way, Alec probably heard you."

"Then won't they assume _you_ were trying something on me? I mean, you did drag me into _your_ room."

Jace shook his head, "You followed me into my room. There was no dragging necessary. Apparently, _you_ haven't gotten enough of staring at me either."

Jonathan scoffed, "Whatever, dude, stay away from my sister."

"I will if you stay away from my brother."

"I'm not…" Jonathan started, but after Jace smirked, Jonathan rolled his eyes, crossing his own arms over his chest, "Touché."

Jonathan knew that if Clary had been with them for that, she would've been too confused to catch up. As it was, he wasn't all that clear what had happened himself. Did Jace really just admit to liking his sister right to his face?

Then again, he did deny it…twice. Both times he had a straight face and his arms were crossed…

"Where's the nearest bathroom?" Jonathan then asked, remembering he had clothes in his hands.

"Oh, what? You're not gonna give me a show? No fair." Jace…did something short of pout.

"Shut the hell up." Jonathan retorted, grabbing the handle and walking out…laughing.

Jace put on another half smile as he grabbed some clothes for himself and walked into his bathroom, starting a shower.

**TMITMITMI**

"I'm Simon." Simon said, to try to cover the awkwardness. After Jace and Jonathan headed upstairs, that only left him and Isabelle.

Not that he was complaining.

She looked him up and down. "Okay." And she headed for the kitchen.

"So…" Simon said, catching up with her, "is this your house?"

He pushed his glasses up on his nose.

Isabelle stopped and turned around, "No, it's Jace's."

Simon scoffed, "Of course."

Isabelle, who had previously turned to continue walking after initially answering him, spun on her heel, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing…it's just…"

Isabelle cocked an eyebrow at Simon's stuttering.

"…predictable." Simon finished, taking a huge breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"How so?"

"Well…what were Clary's odds of being rescued in a _jailbreak_ by … um, someone like Jace who happens to have a brother who's a doctor when she gets shot and lives in a huge mansion house…"

"Stop." Isabelle held a hand up. "I know where you're going with that. Don't finish it."

To her surprise, Simon smiled, "Aw, what's the matter? The big sister can't watch the little brother fall in love…"

Isabelle scoffed, "Please…him love her? I know my brother's type. That girl is definitely not it. It is shockingly nice of him to do what he is doing for her, though."

Isabelle refrained from smiling as she saw the look of defeat in Simon's face.

She was sure it would've been a look of triumph.

"What's wrong?" Isabelle asked.

"Oh…um, nothing."

Isabelle shrugged and continued walking.

When she realized Simon hadn't kept following her, though, she turned around.

"Oh, lighten up. I'm sure she'll find someone eventually. God, you don't have to act like…"

"Act like what?" Simon's eyes narrowed.

"Act like what you're acting like." Isabelle said.

"Oh, that's a good explanation." Simon replied.

Isabelle narrowed her eyes.

"What?" Simon asked her…the way she was looking at him…

"You like her, but whether or not she likes you, you don't want to see her heartbroken. Of course, that could also be because you'll be the one picking up the pieces."

Simon recoiled, "That's crazy. Me? Like Clary?"

Isabelle looked him up and down, "You know, for someone who's been hiding that from _her_, you're not a very convincing liar."

Jace blocked out whatever reply Simon had for that. He knew it wouldn't be the truth anyway. He had already heard the truth. It was undeniable.

At least now Jace knew why Simon hated him.

Jace wasn't really all that fond of Simon either.

But Simon hated Jace because he thought Jace would take Clary away from him…

Jace shook his head as he looked up and saw Jonathan standing there.

Jace stood straight up from leaning over the railing.

"How much of that…" both men said at the same time.

Jonathan smirked, "I'm guessing you heard as much of that as I did."

Jace managed to smirk along with his nod.

"Well, don't worry. If I know my sister, Simon doesn't stand a chance compared to you."

Jace narrowed his eyes, "I think you should be the next one to go see Alec."

"For what?"

"Well, whatever the hell's going on in your brain…_and_ your soon to be _dislocated_ jaw."

"Oh, please, you've punched me twice already and they only felt like taps."

Jace smirked, his eyebrows rose, and he even snapped his fingers, "Oh, so _that's_ why you went flying and landed flat on your ass both times..."

Jonathan glared as Jace started walking down the stairs.

Upon hearing Jace and Jonathan come down the steps, Isabelle and Simon joined them in the lobby.

Simon grunted, "Finally! What the hell happened back there?" following Jonathan and Jace to the couches. Jace and Jonathan took one, while Simon and Isabelle took the other.

"What the hell do you think happened? She was shot." Jace retorted sitting back on the couch putting one leg over the other and crossing his arms.

"How?! She was with you two!" Simon's voice rose as he leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees.

Jace's eyes narrowed at Simon, and he uncrossed his legs so he could lean forward now also, his arms still crossed though, "What do you think? We just _let_ her get shot?!"

"Yeah! Isn't that obvious! You don't even know her! Why the hell would you care about her!? Especially if it was her life or yours!" At this, Simon was standing and flailing his arms as he yelled.

Jace stood too, his own blood beginning to boil, "In case you hadn't noticed, _you're_ in _my house_ and _my brother_ is helping her!"

"Yeah, why? You can't possibly want the money that was in her pocket. You obviously don't need it…" Simon took a breath and Jonathan suppressed a gulp at what he was going to say next. It was all too obvious, "So, it has to be that you're just looking to get some time alone with her! How come we aren't allowed in there with your brother, huh?! Are you planning to sneak away at some point and go up there to her?!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>And CUT! What a way to end that chapter, huh? I am SO MEAN…<strong>_

_** However, no worries, I know how you feel as a FanFiction reader myself, hopefully you'll forgive me because you see, I had to end this chapter there because I really, really, really wanted to share this preview with you – if I had added more to this chapter, you all would've started assuming who the couple was and that might be a bad thing for all of us. Unfortunately, this preview will take me a few updates to get to… :(**_

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><p><em>When I finally finished my story…one that I had been keeping from everyone, except those who were there, I looked back up at him as I sat there in his arms.<em>

_ I quickly averted my gaze, however, as I couldn't believe I had just spilled my guts to him; all my secrets, the craziness…everything. Regret threatened to swallow me whole and I had to look back up at him. I had to try to read his expression if he wasn't going to say anything…_

_ He just looked at me, but it wasn't a look I was used to, his mouth was twisted in a way that said he was trying not to smile too hard; but that look in his eyes was driving me absolutely wild. It looked like…well, pride, and if I didn't know any better…lust._

_ Pride and lust? What?_

_ I averted my eyes, again, his staring at me getting a little awkward. I needed him to say something, anything…even if he was going to call me crazy, weird, a liar, stupid, anything. I had never really been this vulnerable to anyone. But after I could still feel him looking at me, my eyes darted back up at him and he finally broke the silence, "That was one of the best stories I've ever heard."_

_ I smiled, realizing then that I had been slightly afraid of his reaction; but before I knew it…_

_ With one hand below my chin, and the other suddenly at the back of my neck, he closed the distance between our lips and we were kissing._

_ And I was grateful it was time, not regret, which actually swallowed me whol_e.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Wow! I am so sorry for the time it took me to update this! Will you forgive me if it's a longer than usual update? Hehe**_

_Previously..._

_Jace stood up, eyeing Simon, "What do you think? We just let her get shot?!"_

_ "Yeah! Isn't that obvious! You don't even know her! Why the hell would you care about her!? Especially if it was her life or yours!"_

_"In case you hadn't noticed, you're in my house and my brother is helping her!" Jace's voice was now rising also._

_"Yeah, why? You can't possibly want the money that was in her pocket. You obviously don't need it…" Simon took a breath and Jonathan suppressed a gulp at what he was going to say next. It was all too obvious, "So, it has to be that you're just looking to get some time alone with her! How come we aren't allowed in there with your brother, huh?! Are you planning to sneak away at some point and go up there to her?!"_

* * *

><p>Before he could finish his sentence, Jace punched him.<p>

Jonathan and Isabelle, who had previously been listening and watching the scene before them unfold, now stood up and got between them.

"Enough! Enough! This isn't helping her!" Jonathan yelled, holding an arm out to help Simon back up.

"Jace! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Isabelle chided.

"Are you _joking_?! Did you _not_ just hear what he was accusing Alec and me of?!"

"Of course I did! But that's no reason to haul off and punch him!"

"Sure it is!" Jace yelled.

Simon wiped blood from his chin. "Exactly my point! If you can punch me without the slightest thought of hesitation, how am I supposed to believe you care about Clary!?"

"Simon! Stop! He saved her life at least three times! I'm pretty sure this makes four! He was with her before I got to her! She told you that!" Jonathan yelled back at him.

"Why are you defending the guy?!" Simon yelled.

"Because _right now_, he _actually_ deserves it!"

"He was in jail! He was arrested! Why should I believe he cares?!"

"Well, he may not care about her like you or I do, but he _is_ trying to help. We're in _his_ house." Jonathan said, a little calmer, and stealing a look at Jace. His stomach was fluctuating with his heavy breathing.

Just about everyone saw Jace bite back something he was about to say after Jonathan said that.

Simon was quiet too. He couldn't argue with that one.

Jace wanted to smirk at Simon's silence. Jonathan had just earned a few points in his book.

"Look," Isabelle began, walking up to Simon, "your concern for your _friend_ is not unnoticed..."

"My _best_ friend." Simon replied, correcting her.

Jace wanted to laugh again. Poor bastard…

"Anyway," Isabelle said, motioning her hands to shake all of them off, "accusing my brothers of the behavior you are is highly uncalled for in this type of situation and isn't going to help resolve anything – much less heal…"

"Clary." Jace finished for her crossing his arms over his chest, knowing Isabelle wasn't yet familiar with her name.

"Yes, Clary. Thank you, Jace."

Jace nodded and started to go back upstairs, muttering something about bathroom.

"You were just in there!" Jonathan called to him.

"You would know!" Jace hollered back as Simon and Isabelle exchanged confused looks, before landing them on Jonathan – who could only snicker.

Upstairs, Jace softly knocked on the closed door that Alec typically used as his medical room, and he could hear Alec get up from a bed and come answer the door. He opened the door slightly, but once he saw it was Jace, he let him in and softly shut it again.

"What are you doing in here?" Alec asked.

"I wanted to know how she's doing." Jace replied.

"I don't know yet, Jace. It's too soon to tell."

"Is she…" Jace asked, looking down at the floor.

"Dead? No. Going to die? Most likely not. The bullet didn't hit anything vital, and it was also a through-and-through. I was able to stitch her back up a little while ago. Now, I just have to wait for the ice to numb the area enough for me to stitch up the front."

"What about anesthesia?" Jace asked.

"Jace, she's unconscious. I can't give her drugs."

"Can't you feed them to her through a tube?"

Alec shook his head, "No. I won't know how much is too much or how much is too little."

Jace nodded, finally understanding.

"What about the blood loss?"

"I'll know more when she regains consciousness…"

"_If_ she regains consciousness..." Jace said, observing the elephant Alec had just put in the room.

Alec was silent, his eyes narrowed and his arms crossed over his chest.

"I know what you're thinking." Jace said, not looking at him, sitting down on the bed Clary was lying on.

"Oh, yeah? What's that?" Alec asked.

"You're wondering why I care about her so much."

Alec stayed silent.

"Ah, so I guess I was right, then, wasn't I?" Jace did a half-smile and made eye-contact with him.

And when Alec continued his silence, he continued talking. This was how most of their conversations went anyway. "I don't like her…she's just…different."

"Different how, Jace?"

"When I know, you'll know." Jace stood up, and crossed the room to head out, but Alec grabbed him by the elbow and whispered in his ear,

"The wound left behind by a broken heart takes the longest, if ever at all, to heal."

After glancing at him quickly, Jace retreated from the room.

Jace went downstairs and walked into the kitchen…to see Simon and Jonathan picking up spoons; about to eat what he would guess was Isabelle's famous "stew."

"Don't eat that!" Jace yelled, running to hit the spoon out of Simon's hand.

The spoon went flying across the kitchen, and suddenly, he was facing two very angry looks and one confused look.

"Wow! Are you _that_ immature!?" Simon sneered, standing up.

"No. I just saved _your_ life." Jace retorted crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh yeah? And how do you suppose you saved my life by _slapping a spoon out of my hand?_" Simon seethed.

"Simple." Jace said, smirking, "Isabelle can't cook."

"Yes, I can, Jace!" Isabelle yelled at him.

"No, Izzy, you can't; but that's okay, we still love you."

He had to dodge a pot coming at him.

In the meantime, Simon scoffed. "Please, it can't be that bad."

Jace's eyebrows rose, "Sure, if you want to be the next Snow White, be my guest."

Simon furrowed his brows in a look of confusion, as Jace dodged yet another cookware item coming at him.

Jonathan had simply put his spoon down.

Then, Simon showed a smile the Cheshire cat and the Grinch themselves would've be proud of.

Jace almost had to suppress a gulp.

Almost.

"So, why haven't you gone upstairs yet and made Clary the next Sleeping Beauty?"

Simon, then, had to dodge Jace coming at him. Simon ran around the back of the kitchen table to the opposite door, as Jonathan stood up to hold Jace off.

Simon stopped at the door as he noticed Jonathan holding Jace back.

"Stop denying it, Jace! We can all see it!" he yelled, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Then you _all_ need your eyesight checked!" Jace growled and tried to get Jonathan to release him. Much to his surprise, he may have found his match.

Jonathan pushed him backwards. "Enough, both of you. Grow the hell up. You're acting like school children…"

Jace smirked, "He probably is."

"Oh yeah? And what are you? Some wannabe badass? Please. My grandma's scarier than you." Simon scoffed.

"Then why do you run from me when I jump at you?" Jace countered, crossing his arms.

"Simple. I don't want to hurt you."

Jace couldn't hold the laughter any longer, and before everyone knew it, he was doubled over on the ground, rolling around laughing so hard.

Everyone stared at him as though he had gone mad, and in all honesty, he had probably lost something.

* * *

><p><em>Rain patted on the window as Clary realized it was another one of those nights again.<em>

_ She was tired of this._

_ She was done with this._

_ She wouldn't let it happen again._

_ If worst came to worst, she could always move in with Simon._

_ Right?_

_ Clary shook her head, and grabbed the knife from in the kitchen._

_ Her father, the oh-so-wonderful Valentine Morgenstern, came in the door, drunk, and staggering to keep himself from falling flat on his ass. Like that would help. He would be there soon._

_ "Clarissa?" He seethed, his eyes narrowing on her._

_ She had to almost suppress a gulp. Could she really do this?_

_ "Clarissa, why are you holding that knife?"_

_ "Don't…come near me…tonight, _dad_." The word came out like venom._

_ After Jocelyn had been killed, Valentine had gone off the deep end…_

_ And came after Clary…who was the only one home._

_ Jonathan was away with some friends before heading off to college._

_ Wonderful._

_ Before he left for college, he used to take it all. Valentine would be so drunk, and get so disoriented after hitting him, that he would pass out…and stay that way until Clary left for school the next morning._

_ Tonight, however, there was no Jonathan to save her. There was no one to save her. A couple of close calls with Simon, but she was pretty sure his mother would never let him anywhere near their house again._

_ Nope, Clary was on her own._

_ Hence the knife in her hand._

_ She would do it._

_ She had spent hours contemplating this…thinking about it. Wondering how she would remove his body after the fact. _

_ Instead of that last part, she would just pack up and leave._

_ Leave his body…worthless piece of shit that it was…here to rot._

_ "Clarissa, quit playing games. You're going to hurt yourself."_

_ "I know how to use a knife, dad." And as he took a step forward, she took a step back._

_ "Clarissa…"_

_ "My name is Clary." Clary seethed through gritted teeth._

_ "Fine. Clary," he mocked her by scoffing and rolling his eyes while saying her name, "give me the damn knife before you get hurt."_

_ "No!" Clary shouted, "I'm not the one who's getting hurt tonight if you come near me."_

_ "Oh, Clary…" Valentine chuckled, "My poor, sweet, innocent little…"_

_ Clary could feel the sting in her eyes, and she was furiously trying to blink back the tears when suddenly…_

_ He lunged at her._

_ Clary's eyes went wide and her heart pounded in her chest. She backed up as far as she could go to the counter._

_ Until she was left with no choice, she held the knife in a stabbing motion, but he caught her wrist and slammed it against the counter. The knife dropped and a struggle ensued._

_ One that Clary was sure she wouldn't win._

_ He punched her…once…twice…three times until she felt something like an adrenaline rush kick in, and suddenly, she kicked him back…hard…in the place where it really hurt._

_ She dove to the ground for the knife, and just before her middle finger could touch it, she felt her ankle being pulled backwards._

_ "No!" She shouted, using her hands, knees, elbows, and even the points her shirt rode up revealing her stomach to keep her traction and keep him away from her._

_ It wasn't working. The knife was slipping away. When she turned to look back, Valentine was squatting on his feet._

_ As he had a hold of her right ankle, she used her left foot and kicked him square in the side of her face. She didn't get much power on it at the weird angle, and being backwards, but she had enough. _

_ She grabbed the knife, and she could see his shadow as he dove to smother her with his body, she turned around…_

Clary shot straight up; but her waist gave way and she grabbed at her side, screaming in pain, she slammed her head back down against the pillow. She was freezing from the cold sweat of the terror she had just endured.

She was breathing heavily and suddenly, hands were putting pressure on the wound to her waist.

"Jon?" she asked, blinking her eyes open and trying to sit up.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, "Don't sit up. You need to relax. And, no, I'm not Jon. He's downstairs."

* * *

><p><em><strong>I was going to make the terror the next chapter so I could add more to it, but that would've made this chapter pretty short, and, in my opinion, a little boring; so I'm sorry to keep leaving off right in the middle of these moments – because I HATE it when commercials do that, but I gotta do what I gotta do…<strong>_


	10. Chapter 10 - Jonathan's POV

_**Alright, so some of you were asking for this, and since I got over 100 reviews, I figure it's time I did something special again. Hopefully this will answer some questions for y'all!**_

_** Sorry in advance to TheMortanInstrumentNerdXx, I know you, and others, thought it would be better if I did them as a separate story, but I don't think I could come up with that many. As it is, I'm not even sure how many more I'm going to do; but I hope this is labeled pretty well! And again, thank you for your feedback.**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Jonathan's POV<strong>__ - One year ago…_

* * *

><p>"Clary, run!"I yelled at her. I could tell they were coming, and I was terrified they would take her.<p>

"No, Jon! I'm not going to leave you!"

Why in the hell did my sister have to be so stubborn? She must've gotten that from our mother…

"Clary," I said, walking up to her and grabbing her shoulders, barely refraining from shaking her, "I will _not_ tell you again. Leave. Now. I don't want them to arrest _you_."

"And I don't want them to arrest _you._" She said back to me, deathly serious.

I sighed, "I know, Clary, but prison will be much harder for you than me, okay? Take your stuff, and run, now, go! If they don't take me, I'll find you…"

"And if they do…"

I shrugged, "I'll get out on good behavior."

She recoiled, and I wondered if she was going to smack me.

What she actually did was much, much worse. With tears brimming her eyes, I watched her look away from me, and I let her go. She slowly walked over, picked up her stuff, and walked away from me.

I couldn't tell if she was pissed at me or just sad in general; but I didn't have time to figure out because no sooner had she walked around a corner, the police were on me.

"Hands in the air, where we can see them!"

I threw my hands up, but they didn't care. They came up on me, and threw me to the ground, forcing my arms behind my back, and handcuffing me roughly.

"Jonathan Morgenstern, you're under arrest for the murder of Valentine Morgenstern. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say or do can and will be used against you in a court of law…"

I zoned out. I didn't care. I was going to jail, and Clary wasn't; and that's all that mattered.

As they were reading me my rights, they shoved me into the police car, and we began the ride of my life.

Being a little over 20, I couldn't afford my own attorney, but the court appointed me one according to my rights.

He sucked.

My lawyer was only a few years older than me and fresh out of college. He was nervous as hell, and seemed to not know what the hell he was doing.

At more points than I would like to count, I had to help him do his job…while resting my head on my hand, and my elbow on the table, just watching him.

"Dude, _relax_. I did it. I'm guilty. We'll just take the deal."

"Are – are you sure?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I'll take the stupid eighteen-months in prison, and _learn my lesson_. Whatever. The courts can already guess how it happened. It was self-defense."

Well, that wasn't a _total_ lie…

The rest of the proceedings went by way too slow for comfort until finally, I got my sentence and headed off to my fate.

I shoved my personal belongings in the bin they gave me through the cage and received the orange uniform. Breathing out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding, I grabbed the clothes and turned to change.

When I was done, they shackled me and took me into the little 'tutorial' they give everyone.

I couldn't tell which sucked worse, that or my lawyer.

They finally locked me in my cell and said my roommate would be in shortly.

Wonderful. I put my stuff on the top bunk and waited, trying not to go insane.

A little while later, they locked a dude in here that…reminded me a lot of myself.

I crossed my arms over my chest, leaning next to the other end of the bunk beds and watched him walk into the room and put his stuff on the bottom bunk.

When he was done, he stood up and looked at me.

"What, punk?"

He even threw his arms out to his sides for emphasis.

I laughed…harder than I had in a long time.

I shook my hand and head, "Look, dude, I don't want no trouble, and I'm not going to cause you no trouble. When we're on that thing, or the other," I pointed to the john and urinal, "no lookin'."

He nodded.

"I'm Jonathan." I held my hand out to him.

"Jordan." He shook my hand back. "What are you in for?"

"Murder."

His hand retracted quickly, and he was acting like he had just touched a diseased freak.

"Relax." I said to him again, "Murder isn't contagious."

He hesitantly nodded.

"What are you in for?"

"Hacking."

I cocked an eyebrow looking him up and down, "Oh, is that what they're calling porn-watching these days?"

He scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest, "No. Apparently I hacked some big government building…"

"Wait, wait," I put a hand up for him to stop talking, "you hacked a government building and you didn't even know it?"

He shrugged, "It's not like I was aiming for it…"

I laughed, a short one this time, "Alright, cool."

His eyes narrowed then, "Who'd you kill? A drunken bar fight?"

I shook my head…did I really want to tell him? Of course, it was prison and I needed an ally…but this kid did come in here trying to start stuff, did I really want to have to bail his ass out of a more serious fight?

"I killed my father."

His eyebrows shot up, "What? Why?"

"He was hurting my sister."

"Oh, shit…dude, I'm sorry. That was brave of you, though."

I nodded.

"Alright, my first day in jail, and I'm not dead. Challenge accomplished." He suddenly burst out with.

I laughed, again, "Dude, if you plan to _stay_ alive, I wouldn't go around saying what you first said to me, and I definitely wouldn't go around bragging about that… Just…just keep your mouth shut and don't look anybody in the eye."

"You looked at me when you came in."

"No offense, but, I knew I could take you."

He glared at me.

"Don't get any…"

"I won't lunge at you." He cut me off, "I'm just glad to know that somebody will have my back in here…"

I nodded again.

"And I'll have yours. I may not look like it, but I _can_ fight."

"Good to know." I nodded again, tired of talking about fighting with god knows who in the cells next to us.

Days passed; then months…I think. It was hard to tell with the same schedule day in and day out. Except for the days we went to do community service.

Then a year went by, I'm pretty sure.

A bunch of us were headed to the cafeteria when suddenly alarms sounded everywhere.

Instinctively, Jordan and I ducked.

"What's going on?" I asked one of the guys next to us. We all had decided it best to stay where we were.

"Prison break." He said, calmly…as if this happened every day.

Jordan and I exchanged a look.

Suddenly, we heard running and commotion. A couple prisoners went running in that direction, and I heard something to the effect of, "There's civilians!"

I started in that direction, but Jordan grabbed my arm.

"It might be best if we just stay here, man…"

I shook my head, "Who knows what they'll do to the civilians who are trapped in here. I might have to go help them…"

Jordan smirked and shook his head, "You're too good for your own damn good. I'm staying here. Hope we both find a way out."

I nodded at him and we split up.

I wondered why he didn't have my back on this…

I guess he wasn't as dumb as he thought I was.

I started running in the direction a bunch of the inmates were going, following the one who I believe had said there were civilians.

When I caught up to them, I saw a bunch of orange suits surrounding them.

Hawk, our _leader_ as he believed, was in front of them.

He sounded like he wanted to maul them.

Then Mouth, the instigator who talks a lot, said, _"Man, can we not kill the girl?! Do you know how long it's been since I've had a piece of ass? And all the damn guards in here are ugly as hell!"_

All the rest of the inmates chuckled at that…except me.

My temper flared. He wanted to rape a poor girl who was trapped in here, probably scared to death. He would have to do it over my dead body.

Before I could act, though, Hawk piped up, _"Fine, we won't kill the girl immediately, but what do we do about her boyfriend?"_

Suddenly, there was a laugh, and the girl said, "Oh, him? He's not my boyfriend…"

I knew that voice.

I would recognize that voice anywhere.

My heart almost broke into little pieces.

It was Clary.

I kicked into instinct, and stepped out of the crowd, "Hold it! Nobody's killin' anybody."

I walked out to put my back to them, wondering who the hell the guy was who was with her.

"Hawk, this is my sister. Let them walk and I promise, they won't say anything about you."

Hawk and I had had a run in before. He threatened me, but I held my own – gaining me a little bit of respect – and I hoped it was enough to get us all out of this.

He snarled, and re-cocked his gun, but said, "Aight, we got some guards to take care of anyway, wouldn't want to waste the bullets."

And much to Mouth's dismay, they walked away.

I turned and my sister squealed and hugged me.

It felt damn good to be hugged by her again.

A million questions were going through my mind, but one thing was for damn sure.

I had to get her…them…out of here; because whoever that guy was, he had gotten her this far.

* * *

><p><em><strong>I must admit, I really liked this chapter. And, believe it or not I literally JUST wrote it; and it only took me about an hour. Wow! Didn't know I had that in me!<strong>_

_** If you're still really, really confused, either review & I'll address you in the next chapter trying to explain, or PM me & I'll explain directly. **_

_** Thank you AGAIN for your continued support and the many, many reviews/PMs/Favorites/Follows! I truly do appreciate ALL OF THEM! And I try to give shout-outs to those I see most often!**_


	11. Chapter 11

"Who are you?" Clary asked, trying to back up on the bed to get away from the stranger.

"My name is Alec. I'm Jace's brother. Do you remember who that is?"

"Yeah, where am I?"

"You're at Jace's house. Jace and Jonathan brought you to me after you sustained your…injury." He refrained from saying the word shot.

"Oh." Clary said, leaning her head back and staring at the ceiling.

She remembered.

She remembered everything.

"How are you feeling?"

Clary wasn't sure, but she sort of felt like Alec was being…extremely cold and short with her.

Weren't doctors supposed to be _nice_?

"How am I supposed to feel after being shot?"

To her surprise, though, Alec chuckled, "Ah, only a few hours stuck together and you picked up some of Jace's wit already."

"What?"

"Nothing," he shook his head, a half-smile still playing on his lips, "does your head hurt?"

"No, but everything's blurry."

"That'll come. What about anywhere else? Do you feel weak?"

"What are you? A doctor?"

"Yes, actually, I am. That's why you're with me."

"Why am I not in a hospital?"

Alec laughed, but it wasn't a laugh after something was funny…it was more…cold, short… "Jace and Jonathan are fugitives. They couldn't take you to a hospital."

"Oh." Clary said, closing her eyes again. She didn't want to think about that…any of it.

Alec raised an eyebrow, "No more questions? Good."

That's when Jonathan, closely followed by Jace and, behind him Simon and the girl from the driveway that Clary still didn't know barged into the room.

"What the hell are you doing to her?!"Jonathan seethed, running up to Alec, but Jace tackled him before he could reach Alec.

"I did nothing to her." Alec simply stated.

"Jon?" Clary asked, swinging her legs out of her bed and standing up. She was wobbly, at first, though; and, reluctantly, Alec grabbed a hold of her elbow.

"Steady…"

She shrugged him off, "I'm fine." She said, looking at Alec, and then she turned to her brother, "Jon, I'm fine."

Jace got off of him and held out a hand to help him get up.

"Oh my god, Clary…" Jonathan said, as he embraced her in a tight hug.

Clary smiled, burying her face in his chest. Still wrapped in the hug, and since he was basically a head taller than her, Jonathan turned to Alec.

"Thank you." He said, and when the hug ended, he held out a hand to him. "I'm sorry for all of the things I accused you of."

They shook hands as Alec nodded in understanding. Apparently, he was used to this sort of thing.

"How is she?"

"I was able to stitch up her wounds, but she may be in pain for a little while, and she did suffer blood loss. Without equipment, or knowledge of her blood type, I can't really help with that…"

"Wait." Jonathan said, and spun around to Clary, "if you're alright, why did you scream?"

Clary's mouth opened but she wasn't sure what words would come out. She had never told Jonathan about the night-terrors…

To her extreme surprise, _Alec_ offered a plausible explanation, "You would scream too if you woke up in bed with a stranger looming over you. It probably didn't help that I had some tools in my hand at that time…"

Clary closed her mouth, relieved, but wondering why. Moments ago, she didn't think Alec would give her the time of day anymore. Why had he stood up for her?

This whole family was freakin' _strange_.

That's when she lifted her arm and felt a sharp pain go through her.

"Don't do that." Alec chided, "You'll rip your stitches."

"Stitches? Oh…right. I was shot."

She would swear Jonathan and Jace cringed.

_Jace?_

"How are you feeling?" Jonathan looked at her, concern lacing his words and his eyes.

"I…fine, I guess. I don't really know how I'm supposed to be feeling."

"Dizzy, light-headed, weak?" Alec asked, raising his eyebrows but lowering his head and crossing his arms over his chest.

Clary shook her head. "I want to get a shower, though."

"I think I can help with that." Isabelle said, stepping forward, "Come on, I might have some clothes that will fit you. I'm trying to get rid of some anyway."

"Thanks…" Clary mumbled, grabbing her right elbow with her left hand and followed Isabelle out of the room.

"Don't let her get the stitches wet!" Alec called after them, not daring to follow, though.

"Well, now who's going to cook?" Simon …whined.

Jace smirked, "Well, I'm starved."

"Wait, are you…volunteering to cook?" Simon asked.

"Don't be stupid. I'm not cooking for you."

Simon glared.

"Come on, Simon." Alec said, nudging his head toward the door as Jonathan followed Jace out.

"Finally! Someone _nice_."

Alec scoffed, "Hardly. I just don't want you in the room with all my medical supplies alone. And, I know Izzy wouldn't like us being rude to our houseguests…"

Simon shrugged, following him out of the room and down the stairs.

"You look fine." Isabelle said for the millionth time since Clary had been dressed.

Clary looked at herself in the mirror after her shower. Her shirt looked like it had been the top half of a very elaborate dress. It was a black silk material, with thick shoulder straps making a V down the front…_and_ down the back. Clary was surprised that it had enough material to hold it together in the back. The V was low and wide…and low in the front also. Her jeans were a dark wash, and tight as anything. With the appeal of Isabelle's body, Clary figured these are what Isabelle needed to get rid of. The jeans hung, barely, on her hips, and the black and silver belt that she was wearing wasn't really doing much to help. Then there was the boots…they looked like a combination of motorcycle and combat boots. They went all the way up to Clary's knees and had silver buckles at the ankles, and zippers running up the backs.

"Um, Isabelle, I'm not so sure about this…" Clary said, spinning in front of the full length mirror several times.

"Oh, please. You look amazing. Now let's do something about your hair..." Isabelle said, walking up to her with a hair tie and some hairspray. Before Clary knew it, her hair had been tamed enough to be in an elegant ponytail.

Then Isabelle had a wand in her hand and Clary wasn't so sure that she should let her anywhere near her eyes…

"Done." Isabelle said, moments later. "Go on, go into the bathroom and check yourself out. This mirror doesn't do anyone justice."

Stepping into the bathroom and turning the light on, Clary's eyes bulged out of her head. Who the hell was Isabelle kidding? She looked ridiculous…

"I look ridiculous!" She seethed, coming out of the bathroom throwing her arms out to her sides before crossing them over her chest.

"No, you're _being_ ridiculous…"

"I can't go down there, or out there looking like…_this_! I can't pull this off!"

"Well, women do it all the time. I mean, some even wear heels to shop…in case you haven't noticed…"

"I haven't…"

"Which actually does hurt," Isabelle plowed on as though she hadn't heard Clary, "I've tried it once or twice."

"Oh, I'm sure you have." Clary said.

"Stop being angry. You look great. You pull it off perfectly."

"No, I look out of place."

"No, you don't." Isabelle pointed to the mirror and moved out of the way, letting Clary move in front of it.

"Whatever, at least I don't have to go back downstairs naked. Thanks, Isabelle."

"Don't mention it. I threw your clothes out to the trash, though."

"What?!" Clary, who had previously had a hand on the doorknob, spun on her heel.

"Come on, Clary, they were matted everywhere with blood. Mr. Clean and Billy Mays themselves couldn't have gotten those stains out…"

Clary sighed, "Okay…thanks again."

Grabbing the door for the final time, Clary finally tried to make her way down the hallway when she was suddenly grabbed from behind, a hand around her waist and the other over her mouth.

She was being dragged into the room where Alec had nursed her back to health. After the person who had her slammed the door shut with their body, they released her. She flew out of their grip and turned around.

It had been Alec.

"What. The hell. Was that?!" She seethed. "Do you know how close you came to getting hurt?!"

Alec scoffed, "Please, spare me."

"What do you want?" Clary asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Answers." He said, as he crossed his arms over his chest.

And it now made sense to Clary why he had stuck up for her.

She owed him.

_Great_.

"That depends on your questions." She still said defiantly, crossing her own arms.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Ohhh what on earth could Alec be asking her?!<strong>_

_** I can't wait for you guys to find out; so, I'm making an offer. The quicker I get to 150 reviews, the quicker the upate! ;)  
><strong>_

_** Sound good?**_

_** …It does to me…**_

_** So, thank you ALL again! P.S. sorry for the long update my life has been pretty crazy lately; but I'm almost done school for Christmas break! There's light at the end of this long tunnel! Haha!**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Alright, so it isn't at 150 reviews (yet!), but it was close enough for me. Besides, I'm pretty hype to see the reactions this chapter gets... ;)  
><strong>_

* * *

><p><strong><em>Just a little reminder...<em>**

_"What do you want?" Clary asked, crossing her arms over her chest._

_ "Answers." He said, as he crossed his arms over his chest._

_ And it now made sense to Clary why he had stuck up for her._

_ She owed him._

_ Great._

_ "That depends on your questions." She still said defiantly, crossing her own arms._

* * *

><p>"Okay, first off, let's start with the money." Alec pulled the envelope out of his back pocket.<p>

"What about it?"

"Where does a girl like you get this kind of money?"

"Wrong question."

Alec chuckled, "Look, I'm not going to turn you in for damn sakes _my _brother is a fugitive himself. Just tell me where and how you got the money."

"Someone gave it to me."

"Why?" Alec's eyes narrowed.

"Because I saved their life, and you ask more questions than your brother…"

"Yeah, well, my brother wasn't in the mood to ask questions as he was saving your life."

Clary rolled her eyes. _Egomaniacs…_

"So, that was first, what's second?" Clary asked, looking back at him. Maybe she should've just let him forget…

"What happened with that scar above your stitches?"

Clary shook her head, unbelievably pissed that he had seen it. She wasn't answering that question.

"Okay, does Jon know?"

"What do you care?" Clary seethed through gritted teeth. He was in dangerous territory, and needed to start backing out and fast.

"I'm taking that as he doesn't know, and if he doesn't know, he didn't cause it. It's been there for a long time, so the only other person I can think of is a parent…"

"Shut. Up." Clary told him.

"You must've gotten it from your father. Daddy issues. I knew there was something…" Alec emphasized his point by throwing his arms up.

Clary lunged at him, but before she could get to him, suddenly someone else was holding her by the waist; and when she turned in the arms, her eyes widened with horror.

It was Jace.

She put her hands on his chest to attempt to push him off of her, but she wasn't strong enough.

"Let me go." She said, she was trying to be pissed, but she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes.

Jace just shook his head.

"Jace, let me go!" she said a little louder now.

Jace just shook his head again.

"Jace!" she yelled, pounding her fists into his chest before finally grabbing fistfuls of his shirt and burying her head in his chest. The yell had actually sounded pretty muffled as she couldn't stop the tears that were spilling out.

Her makeup would be ruined too. Isabelle was going to kill her.

Unbeknownst to Clary, Jace nodded at Alec and Alec gruffly walked out of the room after putting the envelope down on a table.

After a few moments of standing there, wrapped in Jace's arms as he held her while she cried, she pulled back and he finally let her go. She sat down on the bed and Jace followed her.

"Go away." She said to him, wiping tears and makeup from her cheeks.

"I thought I made it pretty damn clear that I'm not going anywhere and neither are you."

She glared at him, but through her tear stained face, it looked more like a plea. Jace just shook his head and wrapped his arms around her again.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he whispered into her hair.

"Haven't you heard enough? Why are you still here? Why do you care? Why did you save me?"

To her surprise, Jace chuckled at her rambling. "One question at a time, please, and I followed Alec upstairs after he left our wonderful lunch table with Jonathan and _Simon_ to see what he was doing. That's when I saw him grab you."

"Why didn't you stop him?" Clary interrupted.

"Because Alec has a reason for doing everything, and I knew he wouldn't hurt you."

Clary just looked at him as he continued. "I stopped right after I entered, not wanting to interrupt, and I also wanted to hear the conversation."

"Oh, so you were eavesdropping." Clary stated coldly.

"Yes, I'm famous for it." He smirked at her.

Clary smacked him on the chest, but relieved that he was trying to keep this conversation light. That earned him some points.

"It's true that I heard everything, but I'm not sure which you're more scared of, the fact that someone else knows, or the fact that it's _me_ who knows."

"Both." Clary said, without hesitation. "Jace, I…I haven't even told Jonathan the extent of what happened."

"Where's your father now?"

"Dead." She stated, and Jace waited for her to tense, for her to cry, for any sort of reactions; but they never came. She had just said that her father was dead and had felt no emotion whatsoever.

"Did you…" Jace began in a whisper, and he trailed off, but she knew what he was going to ask.

She now made eye-contact with him. Could she trust him? He knew too much already, was she really sure he could be trusted with this information? She hadn't told anyone, and she had promised not to talk about it again, but the truth was swallowing her whole. She was tired of being independent; tired of being the only one in her home. Tired of where her home was. And as she looked into Jace's eyes, she was shocked to see nothing but worry, concern…and a darkness that she just couldn't quite place…

Taking a deep breath and letting it out she replied, "I was holding the knife up in self-defense, lying on the ground from trying to get away from my father and he, in one of his drunken stupors, fell on top of me while coming after me. As fate would have it, Jonathan walked in maybe an hour later while I was curled up in a corner crying my eyes out over what I had just done. I didn't know what to do. I was in shock. I knew I should've ran, packed my things and gotten the hell out of there, but I just…couldn't move. I thought Jonathan would yell at me, or at the very least be mad; but he beamed, and smiled at me. He picked up the knife off the ground, and wiped it down. He got me cleaned up as best he could, and we packed some bags and then we ran. Unfortunately, one of our nosy neighbors heard some commotion and called the police. It didn't take them too long to find us, and when they did, Jonathan took the fall for the whole thing as I walked around the corner like some freakin' coward."

As she brought her hand up to wipe the tears that were now freshly streaming down her face, Jace beat her to it.

"That's why he was in jail." He whispered again.

She nodded.

"That's probably also why the inmates respected him. He and his lawyers probably made sure everyone knew he was defending his 'little' sister."

Clary could only nod again.

"So, how did you get the money to bail him out of jail?" His voice was higher than a whisper now and Clary was grateful for that. She was tired of feeling like she was trading secrets with Jace.

Not that she minded the moment they were currently having too much…

Clary took a deep breath again, "I had been working as a food-runner in a bar when suddenly we were the target of a robbery. I knew it was only a matter of time, though, because the manager is filthy rich. Two masked men barged in the doors after shooting our security guards, and demanded the manager hand over the money in his safe. One of the men grabbed my hair and yanked me to my feet, dragging me into the back room while holding a gun to my head and threatening the manager with shooting me if he didn't comply. After we arrived in the back room with only the one guy while the other watched the crowd in the bar, he threw me on the ground in the opposite corner of the room and trained the gun on the manager. I guess he figured I'd be an easy scare; but he was wrong...especially having to deal with my dad a lot. I got up quickly and jumped on his back like a monkey, making a choke-hold around his throat with both arms. He tried to use the gun to get to me, but his own face and head were in the way since I was smaller than him. My manager then got up, grabbed the gun out of his hands, and hit him with the butt of it. After that, we ran out into the dining area, surprising the second robber and overpowering him too. When we had tied them up in the back room and removed their masks, we headed back out to the dining area to wait for the police, and make sure everyone else was okay. When we returned to the back room the two men were gone. The manager and I were the only ones to see their faces, so the police offered us protection but we both refused. Who the hell wants to live like that? When the police had taken our statements, and we'd been through sketch artists, we returned to the bar. I expected to be yelled at for what I did, but instead, the manager feared for my life. He knew the situation my brother and I were in; so he gave me the money to bail Jon out, and to live off of for a little while as long as I promised not to return to the bar. He was afraid I would be killed if those thugs ever came back."

After her story, she turned her head to look at Jace. His mouth was in a line, with the faint hint of a smile creeping up to it, and he just looked at her. If Clary didn't know any better, she'd say there was a fire beaming in _his_ eyes as though of pride…and…lust?

_What?_

At long last, he said, "That was one of the best fucking stories I've heard in a long time."

To her own surprise, Clary let out a laugh, and when she looked back at Jace he closed the distance between them in a kiss.

And it was time swallowing her whole.

She didn't know how long they stayed like that, but after a moment, the kiss ended. When they pulled away, Clary's waist where Jace's hands had been was freezing. She couldn't help the blush that crept onto her cheeks.

In return, Jace smirked.

Suddenly, the smirk faded from Jace's face as Clary saw cloudiness come over it. He was thinking.

"So, he saw your face?"

"What?"

"One or both of the robbers, you said you saw his face?"

Clary nodded, "Both." And Jace cursed under her breath.

"What's wrong?"

"You left your license at the prison…he might have friends on the inside…"

Clary let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She wasn't sure what she expected Jace to say, but it wasn't that.

"You can't go home." Jace finished.

"I…I have to go home. That's where all my stuff is."

"So, we'll get your stuff. You're moving in here."

"What?" I can't just move in with you…"

"Sure you can. Angel only knows we have the room; and where the hell else would you stay?"

"My uncle's got a place around here…"

"But, let me guess, you haven't seen him in a while?" a half-smile was playing on his lips as he already knew he was right.

Clary looked at him and shook her head.

"Come on, move in here. You'll be fine…as long as you don't eat Isabelle's cooking."

Clary laughed. "What's wrong with…"

"Shhh," Jay put an index finger over her mouth, shaking his head, "it's a long story."

Clary laughed, "Well, in case you haven't noticed, I've got time."

* * *

><p><em><strong> Well, I think that was sort of overdue, don't you? I hope this cleared up some of the questions you might have had! I'm not too big on spoiling things for people, but if you read these author's notes, here and there previews and answers will come. As for asking about the characters, though, just wait and see, BUT I've read all of the books (including TID) and seen the movie, and I HIGHLY DOUBT you'll be disappointed. Just sayin. <strong>_

_** Speaking of being on the lookout, I can't wait for you all to read the next chapter! Mwaahahahahhaa.  
><strong>_

_**Hey! I finally didn't do a cliffhanger in the story. Smh. I might have to change that.**_

_**Ah, well, hope you all read these things!**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Hope you all like some drama! There's this chapter; then, I think another chapter of this filler stuff, and then I introduce another character; and I'm pretty sure you're all going to love that… ;)**_

"Where's Clary?" Simon asked, as he saw Isabelle coming back downstairs.

Isabelle looked at him, "You mean she didn't come back down here? She left my room a little while ago…"

Simon then saw Alec coming downstairs…and panicked, putting an insane two-and-two together.

It was at this moment that Simon realized Jace was no longer in the kitchen.

He wasn't sure when Jace had left, but, right now, he didn't care.

He knew where Jace was…or, he had a pretty damn good idea.

"What are you all doing to her?!"

"Simon, calm down, I'm sure…"

"Where's Jace?" Simon almost shouted.

Isabelle looked at Alec, who shrugged.

"_Where's Jace_" Simon said through gritted teeth.

"He probably went out for a ride."

"You mean you don't know where your little brother went?"

"He's older than me…" Isabelle started.

"Whatever. You mean you don't know where he is?!"

Simon took off, running. "Clary!" he called as he ran up the steps.

"Clary!" he called as soon as he reached the top, he looked to his left, then his right, and back again before deciding she was behind the only door that was closed.

"Simon! What the hell are you doing?!" Jonathan yelled, following him. He caught Simon just before he was about to move toward the door that was closed.

"Looking for Clary, isn't that obvious?!"

"Clary's probably asleep…"

"Oh, yeah? Well, where the hell is Jace?! Probably trying to sleep with her…"

Jonathan scoffed, "Simon, calm down. If Jace was like that, do you really think he would've helped her break me out?"

Simon stayed quiet, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring. "I still want to see my best friend."

"Simon…" Jonathan said, exasperated as Simon walked to the closed door, and without knocking, he grabbed the handle and threw the door open.

_"Clary!"_ Jace and Clary had heard Simon's voice boom from miles away.

"Shit." Jace swore.

"I think you mean double shit." Clary corrected as they sprang apart.

Clary looked around.

"Get back into bed." Jace told her and he quickly crawled underneath. This was ridiculous. This was his house. Why was he hiding?

Clary quickly shrugged her shoes off, and got back into the bed.

Then they heard something that made Clary's stomach drop, "Simon!"

That was Jonathan.

What would he do if he found them?

Clary changed the plans…just as Simon opened the door.

"Clary?"

"Simon?"

"Oh my god. You're alright." He said, and Jace could tell that they were hugging.

"Of course I'm okay. I've been through a lot, Simon. Can't get rid of me that easily." She smiled; a smile that reached her eyes.

Simon laughed, "What're you doing in here?"

"Oh, this is where Alec…um…nursed me back to health? My stuff was in here. I was coming in to get it before I went downstairs."

"Oh…okay. Are you coming downstairs now?"

Clary was putting the envelope in her pocket and she turned back to him, "Yeah, come on."

"Hey, um…Clary?"

With her hand on the doorknob, Clary turned around, "Yeah, Simon?"

"There's something I need to tell you…"

His eyes strayed, and Clary's stomach flipped. He wasn't…

He couldn't…

Not here…

Not now…

"Clary, I…um…will you go out with me?"

_Oh no…_

_ Oh shit…_

_ Double shit…_

Clary's mouth gaped as she zoned out.

She didn't know what to say.

She didn't want to say anything.

She wished she were anywhere but here.

Even back in the prison. Maybe especially back in the prison…you know, before they found her brother.

But that was then, and this is now.

This was going to be harder than stabbing her dad.

"Simon, I…"

"I knew it." Simon said, suddenly angry.

"Knew what?" Clary asked, furrowing her brows in confusion.

"You like Jace."

"What? Simon, I just met him…"

"Yeah, well, it's easy to see."

"Simon, I just met him…"

"Oh? So you're telling me that even if I was Jace you'd still be saying no?"

"Simon, I…"

"Like I said, I knew it."

"Simon, it's not…"

"It's not what, Clary? It's not like that, or it's not what I think? Of course it is! Why else would he have saved you?!"

"I don't know, okay! I don't know why he saved me! I don't know why he went with me! God! Why does everyone keep saying that! What happened to the days when someone could do something nice for someone else without having ulterior motives?"

"Please, Clary, don't tell me you don't see it. _Everybody_ can see his ulterior motives." Simon snorted.

Clary sighed, "Simon, I don't know what you want from me."

"Come home, come back with me, let's go, right now. Look, look at yourself in the mirror. Look what they're doing to you."

"Simon, in case _you_ hadn't noticed – and _everybody_ can tell that you have – this is really all Isabelle wears."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I've seen the way you look at Isabelle."

"Clary, that's ridiculous! I just met her!"

Clary suddenly got a devilish grin on her face as she crossed her arms over her chest, "And now you see where I'm coming from."

Simon shook his head, "Not to mention,_ I_ just asked _you_ out..."

Clary sighed, "Simon, I'm sorry; you're a really good friend…"

"You are _not_ friend-zoning me."

"Yeah, I am. Come on, come here." Clary said, with her arms wide open.

They hugged again, "It's okay. We'll be okay. I'll be okay. We'll go home soon."

Simon smiled, then, and _kissed_ her.

He pulled away slightly, "I don't like Isabelle, Clary, I…" he couldn't finish, so instead he kissed her _again_.

She bunched her hands in the front of his shirt, lightly trying to push him off of her.

Neither of Simon's kisses were anything like what she had just shared with Jace.

Disappointment rolled through her.

When he finally released her, she was breathless…they both were.

_Shit._

He was still holding her around the waist and her hands were still bunched up in the front of his shirt.

"Simon…"

"I love _you_, Clary; and being a best friend and being friend-zoned are two different things. The latter is going to take some getting used to." He said to her, tightening his arms around her.

As soon as he had done it, though, he let her go and walked out of the room, shaking his head and running a hand through his hair.

Her mouth dropped as she watched him walk out.

_What the hell had just happened_?

As if this moment couldn't get any more confusing…or worse, Jace crawled out from underneath of the bed.

"Jace? Jace, I…"

She ran in front of him, realizing he was ignoring her, and put her back on the door so he couldn't open it.

He just glared in response, his hand on the knob.

"Jace?" Clary barely refrained from choking out.

"Simon loves you; now let me leave."

"Jace, I…"

"You what, Clary? You don't care that he loves you? That's not true from what I saw…besides, he's your best friend."

"Yeah, and that's all. I…I don't want Simon like that. He's _only_ my best friend."

"Oh yeah? And pretty soon you'll be going home with him. Get out of the way."

Clary's mouth dropped.

This wasn't happening.

This couldn't be happening.

Jace stared at her in silence, and he forcibly opened the door even though Clary was still standing against it. He walked out, leaving her standing there, stunned.

After Jace had opened the door, Clary looked out and saw someone who was going to make this situation extremely worse than it already was.

Alec. His arms were crossed over his chest and he glared at her as though he was going to kill her _slowly_.

Taking a second-glance, it looked as though in his thoughts he already had killed her, multiple times.

Clary's face dropped and she walked back to the bed after watching Jace stand in front of Alec for a few seconds.

Alec came in.

"Please, don't yell at me. I can't handle three people in a row." Clary begged.

"I'm not going to yell at you." Alec said, in a harsh tone, but what he said was what mattered. Her head instantly turned to him.

_**Alec and Clary seem to be having a lot of bonding time lately, and as a tiny spoiler, that'll come in handy in the next couple chapters. ;)**_

_** I'm so sorry for the slow update! I've currently got a lot going on, even though I just finished up school, and I'm a little stressed out. Thank you for your continued support; but most importantly considering what time of year it is here…**_

_** Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!**_

_**P.S. for all you other writers, are they not allowing the line in the edit documents anymore?! As I'm editing this one, I can't find it! :(  
>Thank you!<strong>_


	14. Chapter 14

_**Alright, alright; so, in all honesty, I really was trying to get this out on Christmas…but it was my only day off, and I got immersed in family stuff for the holidays and…obviously it didn't happen.**_

_** I'm hoping, though, that you'll forgive me after you get to the end of this chapter. ;)**_

_** And, you're welcome in advance because I'm pretty excited for you all to read it. **_

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><p>"You're…you're not?" Clary asked, obviously confused.<p>

"No, but that doesn't mean I'm your ally exactly either."

"So, what does that make you?" she asked, confusion and curiosity once again overpowering her.

Alec sighed, "An observer who learned something about himself tonight." He walked over to sit on the bed himself.

Clary shot an eyebrow up at him as he sat down next to her, "When you love someone, you have to let them go and see if they come back to you, right?"

Clary still stared; she had no idea where this was coming from…why Alec was here…anything. And, truth be told, she was slightly afraid to interrupt, so she stayed quiet and let him continue. It didn't sound like he wanted an answer anyway.

"You did that, with both of them, just now." He continued at her silence.

"Oh, so you were eavesdropping too."

To her complete and total surprise, Alec smiled at her.

She rolled her eyes, "Apparently you're all known for that."

"Except, I know my brother. He may seem like he's giving up, but he's not." Alec replied to her.

Clary just looked at him, a lone tear rolling down her cheek as she thought about what Jace must've seen from under the bed – helplessly watching her kiss Simon since they had been standing near the door.

And he was right, if she truly did love Jace, she would've pushed Simon off of her immediately – not that the thought wasn't there she just…couldn't do it…

"And I also know men," Alec suddenly plowed on. It was as if he knew the battle going on inside of her head. It was freaky.

"And your friend Simon, well…he'll get used to the friend-zone, and he'll probably come to like it…being around my sister and all…"

"What? You're not angry that someone likes your sister?"

Alec scoffed, "Please, Isabelle's had her fair share of dates already. I'm way past the point of being mad that someone likes her. Jace and I only get mad if and when they break her heart…"

"But lemme guess, that usually goes the other way, doesn't it?"

Alec looked at her and nodded.

"Sounds like you have an easy life, then, except you don't get out much, do you?"

Alec suddenly narrowed his eyes at her, and Clary briefly wondered if that was the wrong choice of words.

"I guess there's no use in hiding it now, that's why we moved out from our parent's house anyway."

"Ah, so that's why you all live here? Your brother and sister support you, but your parents don't?"

Alec nodded.

"That sucks."

"They're just old-fashioned. They'll come around eventually…"

"How long?"

Alec just looked at her in response; maybe not understand what she was asking.

She clarified, "How long have you three been on your own?"

"A few years, give or take."

Clary cocked her head at him, giving him the unbelieving eyebrow.

"Okay, four."

Clary nodded in understanding now, and Alec continued, "And actually, I don't have an easy life. Watching Jace try to find someone is anything but easy…"

Clary wasn't really sure what to say here, so once again, she opted for staying quiet and letting him continue.

"I don't usually believe in love at first sight, but…I think he might…now."

Clary laughed, and Alec still continued, "I'm serious, Clary, I've never seen him act around a girl the way he does with you; and there have been a diversity of girls."

Clary just looked at him, not sure if that was supposed to be a scare tactic or not.

"So, you're not going to ask me how many?"

Clary furrowed her brows and shook her head, "No. I don't really care…as long as there's no little Jace's running around somewhere."

To her surprise, Alec laughed, shaking his head, "Not that we know of, and … Jace probably wasn't in a state to even get the girls' names, let alone numbers; but god help us all if there are little Jace's out there…"

Both he and Clary laughed, almost uncontrollably and Alec got up and left the room.

_What. The. Hell. Just. Happened?_

After a brief moment of attempting to collect her thoughts, Clary realized it was futile and got up and walked out of the room. When she got downstairs, Jace was in the kitchen and he barely glanced at her for a second before turning away – obviously still seething; Alec had gone off to do … whatever, but Clary didn't see him, and Jonathan, Simon, and Isabelle were all in the room with the huge T.V…eating.

Belatedly, she hoped it wasn't Isabelle's cooking.

She walked into the kitchen and looked around. It didn't look like there was anything left over; so, frowning, she began to walk out.

"In the fridge." Jace muttered, and if the room hadn't been under the creepy silence of his anger, Clary probably wouldn't have heard him. Instead, she stopped dead in her tracks and turned around.

He was staring at her, and as she moved from where she was to the fridge, she could feel his eyes boring into her back. Upstairs in the room, she realized, he probably hadn't had much time to see what she had been wearing…

But now he did.

She smirked, thinking he must like it.

She saw a tuber-ware container with something edible in it, so she grabbed that and stuck it in the microwave. After the resigned 'beep' signaling the microwave was done, with one regretful glance at Jace, she walked out and into the room with the T.V. – which she now assumed was probably some elaborate living room, and sat on the couch next to Simon.

Simon got up and walked upstairs.

Clary inwardly groaned as Isabelle got up and followed him upstairs.

_At least this'll bring them two closer…_ she thought.

Clary glanced at the door, the envelope from earlier still burning a hole in her pocket. She needed to get out of here – to go see her boss – try and get her job back, go back to her apartment.

Even though she had barely an appetite, she spooned the food she had just heated up into her mouth while she thought.

This whole chance meeting had been great, but it was painfully obvious the fairy-tale was over. Jace had saved her, and she would be forever indebted to him for that, but now he hates her, and he obviously didn't want her around anymore.

The same goes for Simon. Whatever friend-ship they had had was obviously screwed up by his attempt to have a relationship with her, and she would never forgive herself for turning him down; but she just…didn't see him that way. Ever. Even without Jace in the picture. Simon was her best friend; he knew all of her secrets…well, most of them anyway…he knew just about everything there was to know about her…

…And unfortunately for him, that's where his story ended.

She wanted to smack herself, but there was a container of food on her lap; so she figured that wasn't a good idea.

"They'll get over it." Jonathan said, basically reading her internal battle.

"I know." Clary muttered.

Jonathan looked at her now, "The question is, which one of 'em do you want to get over it first."

Clary's eyes immediately went to him, "Now's not the time, Jon."

Jonathan just shrugged and turned back to the T.V.

And Clary's mind was made up; she had to get out of here; the sooner the better.

"Do you know where we are?" Clary asked Jonathan.

He shook his head, "No, you know I suck with directions."

Clary giggled, "Yeah, I guess I had forgotten."

He turned to her then, eyes narrowed, as though something had just clicked, "Why? Planning on leaving?"  
>Clary looked at him and with a mocking tone, "No, Jon, three people in this house just hate me but I want to stay here for the rest of my life."<p>

"Why do they hate you, anyway?"

Clary rolled her eyes, "You're supposed to tell me that they don't hate me."

Jonathan let out a strangled laugh, "Please, with the way they're acting, you're like the devil's spawn."

Clary chucked a pillow at his head, and he caught it.

"That's not funny."

"Clary, I'm not trying to be funny. What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it." She said, getting up and, quickly putting her finished container in the sink, she walked back upstairs.

She found Alec back in his medical room.

"Hey," she said, as though she were a younger girl with a crush. She had her left hand rubbing her right arm.

"Hi." He said, not looking up.

_Oh, come on, you can't be back to yourself…_

She walked over and leaned against the top of the desk that he was sitting at.

"Whatchya doin'?" she sing-songed.

He smirked, "Paperwork, why?" and his eyes narrowed as he looked up from it.

"I need you to do me a favor now, and it involves that mysterious envelope."

Alec raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah, I need to get out of here, and I'd really like to return the money to its owner…and get my job back."

"Will Jonathan kill me?"

Clary shook her head, "Probably not."

Alec shrugged, standing up.

"Wait, you're actually going to take me?"

Alec gave her a smile and a shrug, "Why not?"

"I don't know; I just was sure that…"

"That I would say no?"

Clary nodded.

Alec shrugged again, "I don't get out enough anyway."

She smiled, and followed him downstairs. He snuck her out the front door since Simon, Jace and Isabelle were nowhere to be found.

Jonathan was immersed in the television in the living room.

Clary and Alec, after sneaking out, ended up getting into a Chevrolet Camaro that looked exactly like Bumblebee from the movie Transformers.

"Wow." Clary said.

"What?" Alec asked her as he opened his door.

"I…"

"Wasn't expecting the nice car? I am a doctor, in case you have forgotten." He said now, starting the engine as they had both gotten in.

Clary nodded, getting in without another word.

"What's the address?" Alec asked, handing her his GPS.

"_Bane's Abyss_? What the hell is that?" Alec asked, as his GPS began speaking out the directions. They were already on the road.

"A bar…" Clary muttered, but Alec had heard her.

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-one…soon." Once again, Clary muttered the "soon" part in hopes that Alec had missed it.

He didn't. "Twenty? You're not old enough to be working in a bar…"

"Look, the owner took pity on me and gave me a waitress job…one that I'm pretty sure he created just for me. Apparently he has a soft spot. I didn't serve alcohol to anybody, nor did I drink it…"

"You could've been arrested if the cops had found out, and…that might be why he sent you away…"

"No! That's not true. He cares about me, Alec. _That's_ why he gave me the job."

"There could be other reasons."

"Save them for my _brother_ to ponder. I don't need another one." Clary said, getting out of the car as soon as they had pulled up from the bar. It had been a pretty quick ride…quicker than she had expected. She supposed it had a lot to do with the make of car Alec was driving.

Clary led Alec into the front doors, and in another life, Alec probably would've frequented this place. It was pretty dark; at some points, you couldn't see your own hand in front of your face; but it was nice.

After all, Alec had a logical reason for the anonymity. As much as he hated himself for it…

"Hey, Maia, is Magnus here?" he spun around as he heard Clary talking to a bar girl.

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><p><em><strong>Well, what'd ya think? A couple of you were asking if I was going to have Magnus in this story…and I can only hope this answered your questionnnnn ;)<strong>_

_** Once again, thank you for the continued support! Any reviews/PMs/favorites/follows are welcome and DEFINITELY appreciated! I try to respond to/mention my frequent reviewers, but if I've missed you, just let me know in the review and I'll give you a shoutout in my next update!**_

_** Thank you all SO much! See you in the next chapter ;)**_


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